Decorated Easter eggs in plaster: DIY ideas, tutorial and decorations

TL;DR: Decorated Easter eggs in plaster last far longer than real ones and can be personalised in countless ways: with Aqua Resin and an egg-shaped silicone mould you get smooth, porcelain-effect eggs to colour in pastel shades, highlight with gold or marble. They are demoulded after 30 minutes and decorated after 24 hours of drying.

Introduction

Decorated Easter eggs are the most classic symbol of the season, but real ones break, polystyrene ones look cheap and plastic ones can't really be personalised. Cast plaster solves the problem: every egg comes out solid, smooth and bright white, with a porcelain-effect finish that holds even the finest decorations, and it keeps so you can bring it out again every year. In this guide we focus only on DIY Easter eggs: the casting tutorial, five decorating techniques, from pastel to gold, and ideas for using them around the home as centrepieces, place cards or hanging decorations. If you are looking for simpler activities to do with children, such as bunnies, flowers and trinket trays, you will find them in our guide to Easter crafts for kids in plaster.

Contents

• Key points
• What you need for plaster eggs
• Tutorial: the eggs in 6 steps
• 5 techniques for decorating Easter eggs
• How to use decorated eggs at home
• Common mistakes
• Recommended products
• FAQ
• Make your own decorated Easter eggs

Key points

• The material: Aqua Resin is not an epoxy resin: it is a premium alpha plaster, non-toxic and water-based, that gives a smooth porcelain-effect finish in silicone moulds.
• The recipe: 100 g of powder poured into 30 g of cold water, demoulding after 30 minutes and complete drying within 24 hours.
• Colour: Aqua Pigment is dissolved in the mix, Aqua Metal is applied only by brush on the dry egg.
• Protection: Aqua Shield is used on decorative eggs, never on scented ones.

What you need for plaster eggs

The kit is simple and you probably have most of it in your kitchen already:

• Aqua Resin, the plaster powder to mix with cold water.
• An egg-shaped silicone mould: relief eggs with a flat back are the most practical, because they stand, hang and decorate easily.
• Kitchen scales, bowl and spatula for weighing and mixing.
• Colours and finishes: Aqua Pigment for pastel shades, Aqua Metal and gold leaf for precious details.
• Cord or ribbons if you want to hang the eggs.

Plaster eggs pair beautifully with bunnies: with the 3D Rabbit mould you cast a bunny from the same mix to sit beside the eggs and complete your Easter arrangement.

Tutorial: the eggs in 6 steps

This is the method we use to cast the eggs. If you want several in different colours, prepare a separate mix for each colour and work one batch at a time.

1. Prepare the mix

Pour 30 g of cold water into a bowl and, for a coloured egg, first dissolve a touch of Aqua Pigment in it. Add 100 g of Aqua Resin, always the powder into the water, and stir gently until the mix is fluid and lump-free.

2. Pour into the egg mould

Pour the mix into an egg-shaped silicone mould up to the rim and tap the work surface a few times to bring the bubbles to the top. No release agent is needed.

3. Insert the hanging loop

If you want to hang the egg, lay a small loop of cord in the still-soft plaster, near the tip, and push it just below the surface.

4. Demould after 30 minutes

After 30 minutes, flex the sides of the mould and ease the egg out gently. Rinse the silicone with plain water and it is ready for the next pour.

5. Leave to dry for 24 hours

Place the eggs on a tray, well spaced apart: within 24 hours they are completely dry and ready to decorate.

6. Decorate and protect

Add the details with Aqua Metal applied by brush or with gold leaf. On unscented eggs you can then apply Aqua Shield by brush or by dipping: it is transparent, but it leaves a glossy finish and may slightly alter the colour.

5 techniques for decorating Easter eggs

Once dry, the eggs become a blank canvas. These are the techniques our team uses most often, from the simplest to the most striking.

1. Pastel in the mix

The simplest technique: the colour is already in the mix. By dissolving a little pigment you get powder pink, light blue, sage green or soft yellow, all perfectly even. A set of eggs in four different shades looks lovely in a basket.

2. Gold by brush or leaf

For an elegant look, leave the egg white and paint just a band, the tip or a few dots with gold Aqua Metal, applied by brush and never mixed into the plaster. Alternatively, apply a few flakes of gold and silver leaf: a textured decorative effect reminiscent of jewelled eggs.

3. Marbled

Prepare two small batches, one white and one coloured, and pour them into the mould together; then draw a single swirl with a cocktail stick. Every egg comes out with different veining. Don't stir too much, or the colours blend and the marble effect disappears.

4. Initials and names

With a fine-tipped brush, write each guest's initial on the dry egg, in gold or a contrasting colour. For raised letters you can cast the initials with the Alphabet mould and place them beside the egg: a very personal Easter place card.

5. Scented eggs

Add a few drops of fragrance to the water before pouring in the powder and you will get scented eggs to tuck into drawers or baskets. These eggs should be left natural: Aqua Shield stops the fragrance from being absorbed.

Pro tip: before decorating a whole batch, we always test the technique on a spare egg. This matters most with Aqua Shield: it leaves a glossy finish and may slightly alter the colour, so it is worth seeing the effect on your pastel shade before applying it to all the eggs.

How to use decorated eggs at home

Plaster eggs don't get used up at Easter: you put them away and they come back the following year. Here is how we use them.

• Easter tree: hung with cord from a peach or willow branch in a tall vase.
• Centrepiece: gathered in a round plaster tray with moss, olive sprigs and a bunny in the middle.
• Place cards: an egg with the guest's initial placed on the napkin at each setting.
• Gift: three eggs in a small box with tissue paper, to give to family and friends.

For the Easter table it is worth making one more egg than you have guests: if a piece gets chipped while you are laying the table, you already have a decorated spare ready.

Common mistakes

• Pouring the water onto the powder. Lumps form and remain visible on the surface of the egg: it is always the powder that goes into the cold water.
• Demoulding too early. Wait the full 30 minutes, especially with thinner eggs.
• Decorating before 24 hours. On an egg that is still damp, Aqua Metal and gold leaf don't adhere evenly.
• Mixing Aqua Metal into the plaster. The metallic colour is only applied by brush; to colour the whole piece you need Aqua Pigment.
• Sealing scented eggs. Aqua Shield stops the fragrance from being absorbed and the egg loses its scent.

Recommended products

As well as Aqua Resin, these are the products we use for decorated Easter eggs:

• Aqua Pigment — pastel colours to dissolve in the mix
• Aqua Metal — gold to brush onto bands and tips
• Gold and silver leaf — the precious decorative effect
• 3D Rabbit mould — the bunny to pair with the eggs
• Alphabet mould — initials for Easter place cards

FAQ

How do you make decorated Easter eggs in plaster?

Pour Aqua Resin, mixed at 100 g of powder for every 30 g of cold water, into an egg-shaped silicone mould. Demould after 30 minutes, leave to dry for 24 hours and decorate with pastel colours, gold, a marbled effect or initials.

How do you make pastel-coloured plaster eggs?

Dissolve a touch of Aqua Pigment in the water before adding the powder: the colour is even throughout the whole piece. A little pigment gives soft shades that suit Easter, and colours can be combined to create custom tones.

How do you get a gold effect on plaster Easter eggs?

On the dry piece, apply Aqua Metal gold by brush, for example on a band or on the tip of the egg, or add flakes of gold leaf as a decorative effect. Aqua Metal must never be mixed into the plaster.

Can decorated plaster eggs be protected?

Yes, with Aqua Shield applied by brush or by dipping on the dry egg. It is transparent but leaves a glossy finish and may slightly alter the colour. It must never be used on scented eggs, because it stops the fragrance from being absorbed.

How can you use decorated plaster eggs at Easter?

Hang them from a blossoming branch with a cord, arrange them on a tray as a centrepiece together with the bunnies, or use them as place cards with each guest's initial painted on or in gold. Once the holidays are over, they are a decoration to put away for next year.

Make your own decorated Easter eggs

Cast a first batch of white eggs, try one technique at a time and put together your Easter centrepiece: in two afternoons you will have porcelain-effect eggs to use every year. All the matching shapes are gathered in the Aqua Resin moulds and accessories collection.
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