Songbird Eggs

For symbols of springtime, life, and new beginnings, few things can compete with the songbird's egg. Softly tinted eggs are a refreshing reminder of unending potentialities in the world around us.

People often puncture, drain, clean, and dye chicken's eggs with beautiful results, but real eggs are delicate. These polymer clay eggs are much more durable, and you can make them in any size or color you want.

With only a few supplies, you can create a whole nest's worth of polymer clay eggs. They make charming decorations for the home, or they can be fitted with an eye pin and worked into unique pieces of jewelry.

This simple project is ideal for children and those new to clay.

• Polymer clay in color(s) of your choice
  • We used Premo in white, cobalt blue, and zinc yellow to create our pale robin's egg blue eggs. We also made eggs from a few other pastel mixes. To mix pastel clay, add a very little bit of color to some white or ecru clay. Continue mixing in tiny amounts of color until you're happy with the results.
• Aluminum foil (optional)
• Acrylic paint in desired color(s)
  • We used mostly a few shades of brown and beige, but you can use any colors you like.
• Eye pins (optional)
• Superglue (optional)

• Work Surface
• Photos of songbird eggs (optional)
• Pasta machine or acrylic rod (optional)
• Shape cutter (optional)
• Needle tool or craft knife
• Oven (and related)
• Accordion-folded cardstock or fiberfill
• Wet/dry sandpaper (optional)
• Toothbrush

Using an aluminum foil core allows you to use less clay and make a larger egg than you can with a solid chunk of polymer clay.    Though polymer clay is already a relatively lightweight material, using a foil core makes an egg even lighter. 

For an egg that will be larger than 1 inch thick, start by making an aluminum foil core. (For smaller eggs, skip down to the second set of instructions.)

Using a foil core serves a few purposes. First, it makes the egg easier and faster to cure (bake). Second, it conserves clay. Finally, a foil core makes larger clay shapes (not only eggs, but also beads, pendants, sculptures, etc.) more lightweight.

Compress the foil tightly to eliminate air pockets. Build up the core by wrapping it with more foil until it's the right size and shape.

Make the core a little smaller than you'd like the finished egg to be. Try to keep it close to the shape of an egg-- roughly oval, with one end slightly smaller and more pointed than the other. (You may find it helpful to look at a photo or an actual egg from time to time, while shaping the eggs.)

 

 

 

 

 

Condition the clay.

You can of course make your egg(s) any color you like. We made the one pictured in a pale robin's egg blue, using a ratio of 28 parts white, 4 parts cobalt blue, and 1 part zinc yellow. (Or to be less precise, a lot of white, a little cobalt blue, and a smidgen of zinc yellow.)

Roll (or press by hand) the clay into a sheet.

 

 

 

Wrap the foil egg with a portion of the sheet of clay, trimming away any excess as you go.

Press the clay firmly around the foil core. Smooth it with your fingers or by gently rolling it between your palms.

Try not to trap pockets of air between the foil and the clay, because these can expand during curing, causing bubbles or cracks. If you notice trapped air, simply pierce the bubble with a blade, toothpick, or needle tool and press the clay down to release the air.

Try to get the clay into a smooth egg shape. If the foil sticks through the clay, add a bit more clay to those spots and blend the edges in with a fingertip. (You may want to start with a slightly thicker sheet of clay, next time, if this is a persistent problem.)

If your egg isn't exactly egg-shaped, add a little clay here and there to build up the right proportions. On the other hand, if you feel that the egg has gotten totally out of control, just pull off most of the clay, form it back into a sheet, and start over again.

 

 

 

 

 

When covering a foil core, it's a good idea to pierce the clay-covered shape in a few inconspicuous places. This allows a way for trapped air to escape during curing. If you plan to speckle your eggs, tiny pin holes will blend in easily.

 

 

(This step is optional.) At this point, you can stick an eye pin into the top of the egg, if you want to use it as jewelry or a hanging ornament. Push the eye pin with just enough pressure to pierce through the clay, then set it aside for later.

 

 

Place the eggs on an accordion-folded piece of cardstock (or fiberfill) to hold them steady during curing (and to prevent flat, shiny spots that result from curing directly on a flat, shiny surface). Cure according to the clay manufacturer's guidelines.

Allow the eggs to cool completely.

 

If you want your eggs to be speckled, as many songbirds' eggs are, find a spot where you can get a little messy with acrylic paint. Work outdoors or over a sink or lined wastebasket-- anywhere spatters of paint won't be an issue or can be quickly and easily cleaned. (Also, you will not want to do this step in your nicest clothes.)

Dip a toothbrush into a little acrylic paint. (You can squirt a few drops out onto a bought or makeshift palette or work directly from the bottle or tube.) We used paint in a few shades of brown and beige, but feel free to experiment.

Practice spattering the paint onto a scrap of paper until you get the hang of the technique. Draw a finger or your thumb back over the paint-laden brush. Notice how the paint spatters (mostly) in the opposite direction.

When you're comfortable with spattering, exchange the scrap paper for your cured and cooled eggs.

You may find it easiest to spatter your eggs in stages, allowing one side to dry before spattering the other. Continue spattering until your egg is speckled to your own approval. You can even spatter multiple colors onto the same egg, for greater depth and variety. For less opaque speckles, try diluting the paint with a very little water before spattering it. You can also "splotch" your eggs by randomly dabbing paint onto them with a fingertip or brush.

Note: The point of spattering is to create a random speckling, but if you are dissatisfied with your results, you can always remove the paint and start over. If the paint is still wet, wipe it away with a damp cloth or paper towel. Rubbing alcohol, soap and water, or a wet wipe usually do the trick. If the paint has dried and is being stubborn, you can sand it away with a fine grit wet/dry sandpaper (400 grit, for instance).

Allow the speckled eggs to dry completely.

If you desire, you can heat-set the paint by putting the eggs back into the oven for ten minutes at 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Heat-set paint on clay is generally fairly durable, but if you're concerned about possible wearing, you can seal the eggs with any polymer clay-friendly (water-based) finish. We recommend a matte finish for a more realistic look, but if you'd prefer a high-gloss egg, go for it!

If you prepared your egg for an eye pin, don't forget to glue it back in place, once you're done curing. (Curing temperatures degrade most cyanoacrylate glues, like super glue.)

If you're putting an eye pin into a foil-core egg, you may need to make a little room for it in the core. We find this easier to do after curing, as it reduces the chances of distorting the egg shape. Find a sharp pin or needle of similar diameter to your eye pin. Holding the egg in one hand, gently but firmly press the pin into the foil with the other. Remove the pin/needle and test the eye pin in the newly deepened hole before gluing. You may need to trim the eye pin to the right length using a pair of wire cutters.

If you prefer not to use an aluminum foil core, you can make small eggs from a solid piece of polymer clay. 

For eggs no larger than an inch or so thick, you can skip the foil core and make solid clay eggs. Skipping the foil core is faster and easier when making small eggs.

Begin by conditioning your clay. (See Step 2 from the previous set of instructions for specific directions.)

To create multiple eggs of the same size, we find it easiest to start with a sheet of clay of uniform thickness. Select a shape cutter (a.k.a. cookie cutter, large straw, etc.). Determine how many "shapes" you need to combine to make an egg in the desired size. Now you can easily make every egg in your nest the same size!

Shape the egg.

There are a number of ways to work the clay into an egg shape (and different birds lay different shapes of eggs), but this is how we did it:

Begin by rolling the clay into a ball between your palms.

Place the ball on your work surface. Position your index finger on one half of the ball. Roll the ball back and forth between your finger and the work surface, pressing gently. The ball should begin to elongate on one size, creating an egg or teardrop shape.

Pick up the egg and finesse it a bit to get the shape just how you want it.

If you want to use your egg as a charm or an ornament, gently stick an eye pin into the top.

 

 

Go to Step 6 in the "foil-core egg" instructions above for further direction. The remaining steps are the same for both types of eggs.

• Make a set of ornaments for an Easter egg tree by adding eye pins to the eggs before curing. Loop colorful ribbon through the pins to serve as hangers.
• Create an imitation of the popular "Robin Eggs" Easter candy by using bright and bold colors of clay and paint.
• Don't be limited by nature's designs. Experiment with unexpected colors or add different decorative elements to your eggs.
  • Paint a pattern instead of the random speckling.
  • Cover eggs in glitter.
  • Add texture before curing the eggs.
• If you're making eggs for a display in your home, consider sculpting an empty eggshell, too-- two halves of a shell to suggest that one egg has already been vacated.
• Place (or even glue) a small group of eggs into an old (or store-bought) bird's nest for a natural look, or arrange them in a small, pretty cut-glass or ceramic dish for a touch of whimsy.
• If you want ultimate realism, research the size and coloring of the eggs you wish to mimic. (There's a wealth of information online, as well as photos.) Songbird's eggs are generally smaller than the chicken's eggs you find in the market.
• Consider wearing latex, vinyl, or nitrile gloves during the shaping of the clay, if you find fingerprints to be a problem. You can also remove prints by sanding the eggs with wet/dry sandpaper after curing but prior to speckling.
• For larger eggs, you can cover a blown and cleaned eggshell with clay. Some people cover wooden, paper-mâché, or even plastic Easter eggs with polymer clay. When covering objects, be sure that they are oven-safe (won't melt, catch fire or otherwise make a huge mess when put into a hot oven for the curing process).