# Scratch and Glitter Eggs > Color eggs all over with bright crayons, paint them black, sprinkle on glitter, then scratch designs with a toothpick to reveal the colors underneath. An open-ended scratch-art twist on Easter egg decorating. - URL: https://www.funlittles.com/easter-egg-ideas/ - Ages: 3–8 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: high - Time: prep 40 min, activity 45 min - Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class - Skills: fine-motor, open-ended-art, colors, creativity - Cautions: egg, ingestion-risk ## Materials (one batch) - 1 piece Eggs at room temperature (raw, hard-boiled or blown) (household) - Crayons in bright colors - Black acrylic or tempera paint - Dish soap (household) - 1 piece Paintbrush - Glitter - 1 piece Toothpicks (household) - 1 piece Bottle caps (egg stands) (optional) (household) - 1 piece Turkey baster (optional) (household) ## Substitutions - Instead of black paint: Black tempera paint (The author says tempera works as well as acrylic.) - Instead of eggs: Hard-boiled eggs (The author says this works: hard-boil them and let them reach room temperature before coloring. They won't keep for long.) ## Safety - Raw eggs can carry salmonella. Wash hands after handling eggs, and have an adult do any blowing out of the contents. - Decorated eggs are not food. Hard-boiled eggs coated in paint and glitter should not be eaten, and they don't keep for long. - Toothpicks are sharp. Supervise scratching closely and keep toothpicks away from faces. - Keep glitter away from eyes and mouths. - Eggs are fragile. Work over a tray or covered table in case one cracks. ## Before you start - Take the eggs out of the refrigerator so they reach room temperature, or hard-boil them and let them cool to room temperature. - Mix black paint with a few drops of dish soap. - Cover the table, since black paint and glitter get everywhere. ## Steps 1. Color the eggshell with bright crayons. Use lots of colors and press lightly. 2. Go over the egg and cover up every bit of white with color. 3. Paint the whole egg with the black paint and soap mixture. 4. Sprinkle glitter all over the wet black paint. 5. Set the egg on a bottle cap and let it dry for about 10 minutes. 6. Scratch lines and designs into the black with a toothpick to reveal the colors underneath. 7. Show off your finished eggs in a basket. ## Tips - Start with eggs at room temperature. Eggs straight out of the refrigerator will not take crayons well. - Remind kids to press lightly. We are coloring on eggs! - Make sure all the white is covered with color for fun-looking scratch art eggs. You might have to go over the eggs yourself once the child is done. - It's a 'do your own thing' kind of open-ended art project, our favorite kind. I tried not to give any pattern suggestions. - Drying time thankfully took only around 10 minutes. - We went super overboard with the glitter on one. Don't they look like space eggs? Very futuristic! - You can decorate the eggs first and then blow the contents out using a turkey baster. Red Ted Art has a video showing how to blow eggs. - Hard-boiled eggs work, but you can't keep them for long. I just threw a couple of mine out. ## FAQ **What do you use to scratch the eggs?** Toothpicks. **Can the eggs be hard-boiled?** Yes. Hard-boil them first and let them reach room temperature before using the crayons. They won't keep for a long time. **What's the ratio of paint to dish soap?** The post only says a few drops of dish soap mixed into the black paint. No exact ratio is given. ## The original post by TurkeyMom (2013) Have you started decorating your eggs already? Decorating appeals to many girls and mine are no exception. Nature girl she is, after collecting bugs and creating a terrarium, she had to decorate it with curtains! Yes, a soda bottle terrarium with pink sheers. Of course Easter egg decorations will positively excite her. Today's post is about decorating Easter eggs using the homemade scratch art technique. We started off with eggs at room temperature since eggs straight out of the refrigerator did will not take crayons well. My preschooler started coloring the eggshell with some bright colored crayons. I reminded her to use multiple colors and to press lightly ( not too much- we are coloring on eggs) Once the child is done coloring the eggs, you might have to go over and cover up all the white with some color. Make sure all the white is covered up with colors to have a fun looking scratch art eggs. Our finished crayon eggs. Then she painted over with black acrylic paint mixed with a few drops of dish soap. Tempera paint will work as well. The black eggs by themselves look cool right? So much black screamed glitter and that's exactly what we did. We drenched the black eggs with some glitter and let them dry. Drying time thankfully took around 10 minutes and we came back to scratch the eggs. Since this was the first time we are attempting homemade scratch art and the fact that we are working eggs, I had to put the camera down. My preschooler was interested in making lines and just about scratching. Also this is supposed to be " do your own thing" kind of open ended art project ( our favorite kind) I tried not to give any pattern suggestions. ** She was very excited when her scratches revealed a bright array of colors. We went super over board with the glitter here. Don't they look like space eggs? Very futuristic! >The babies in the basket Quick note : You can decorate the eggs first and then "blow" the contents out using a turkey baster. Visit Red Ted Art's wonderful Google Hangout video where she shows you **[" how to blow your eggs"](https://www.redtedart.com/egg-craft-ideas//)** - Room temperature eggs - Black paint (tempera/acrylic) - Dish Soap - Crayons - Tooth Picks For more Easter ideas, visit our **[Easter Category Page.](https://www.funlittles.com/category/holidays/easter/)** Thanks for reading --- ---