As the name of my blog indicates, I spend a lot of time thinking about home. Of course, my Heavenly Home is the one that is eternal, so that’s where I need to lay up my treasures, and that’s the one I’m striving for. But in the meantime, I have been given this tiny piece of the here-and-now—this home on the edge of town, this family, this neighborhood—in which to serve Him. And, though this is in the earthly realm, I want the things that happen here to be investments in the Heavenly realm.




Tuesday, March 24, 2015

"Redware" Eggs



Inspired by a couple of photos of some painted "redware" eggs (~here~ and ~here~), I decided to paint a batch for myself. 

Of course, I had the project on my to-do list all last week but never got around to doing it...until Saturday when I had a gazillion other things on my list. Ron and I had been out for breakfast, Kati was called in to work early, Ron left to cut firewood, and Bekah and I were left to clean the entire house, catch up on the laundry, make dessert for Sunday afternoon, and make dinner before we left for a ladies' game party at my daughter's house. Perfect time to start a project, right? 

(That's how procrastinators do things, you know.) 

So I gathered a few supplies: a package of plastic dyeable eggs, some brushes, and various and sundry acrylic paints in my stash.

I did not have the colors I needed, but this was a last minute project and we were short on time so no trip to the store. Instead, I squeezed a little barn red on a paper plate and stirred in a bit of brown to make a rusty red. Then I blended some yellow into a blob of taupe to get the muted yellow I needed. 

I was hoping that the dyeable eggs were porous enough to absorb the acrylics, but, alas, they were not. Time for Plan B. 

Off to the attic I went to retrieve some wooden eggs. Year ago, I had painted these wooden ones blue and then dappled them with white to create a spongeware look. Ryan had suggested that they looked like denim and after that I could see nothing else, so I never used them. I had nothing to lose by painting over them! 



The "denim" eggs required two coats of the rusty red paint. (Thankfully, acrylics dry quickly!) 

Then, while looking at online images of redware pottery for inspiration, I used the yellow to paint some typical designs on the eggs. 

After they were dry, I began to apply a coat of wax, but the wax started to remove some of the paint. Ack! No time to repaint! Plan B Plan C to the rescue! I rubbed a little Old English furniture polish over each egg to protect the paint and add a little luster.

My work is certainly not professional. I should have thinned the paint a bit, and my detail brush could have been narrower. But I am pleased with the overall look. It is good enough. 



About that to-do list? 

The house was cleaned. The laundry was washed and dried but not folded. Dinner was prepared by Chick-fil-A instead of me. Dessert baking was postponed to Sunday morning. 

But I had a cute bowl of eggs on my kitchen table when our church fellowship met here on Sunday morning!

(Because that's how procrastinators do things, you know.)

14 comments:

  1. The eggs turned out beautifully! You are sure to enjoy these non-denim eggs for years to come :)

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  2. They look perfect for your table. I like the denim one, too. =D Oh do I hear you about procrastination...and the need to do a project before doing the more needful things. The project may have been the more needful thing after all!

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  3. wow I do relate big time...comforting to know I'm not alone in my madness:))

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  4. They look great! I am a procrastinator too, and find that I am more energized in the afternoon or evenings, so my projects often get put off until those times. Tim just shakes his head at me! ha ha. He'll be in for a surprise tonight when he gets home from work. I rearranged the bedroom sitting area, this evening! I'm certain this is why he loves me! lol

    Deanna

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  5. From where I'm sitting, these look delicious. And, yes, I mean delicious! They look like designer chocolates to me.
    Isn't it funny how when someone points out something we didn't notice, it becomes all we can see. The "denim" eggs look like how the earth looks from the moon. haha
    Your procrastination methods obviously work for you!

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  6. Those turned out really nice.

    I'm a procrastinator too. Sigh!

    Happy Spraing ~ FlowerLady

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  7. Count me in the procrastinator club, too. I think the eggs look fabulous!

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  8. Love the eggs. You work well under pressure! But you always pull it all together with grace and style! Blessings, Sharon D.

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  9. Persistance pays off! What a journey to get to your beautiful result. At first they looked like chocolate chocolate.

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  10. That really is a cute bowl of eggs! I bought the shrink wrap variety from the Ukranian market today.

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  11. Your coloured eggs are gorgeous! I usually "dye" mine by boiling them in onion skins and the colour is a similar chestnut brown. I love that you've painted on the redware designs - so beautiful. I'd better get cracking on my Easter eggs too - it'll be here before I'm ready!! I am the queen of procrastination - ugh!

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  12. Lovely redware eggs, Cheryl! How clever to use what you have to get what you want! I love to recycle things I have stored away because they are not exactly what I wanted. ♥

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  13. Love these, Cheryl. You managed to get lots done!

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