Marbleizing Eggs

I'm a long time magazine clipper/filer...back in the day {high school} I subscribed to Martha. All those years ago, I tore out an article on marbleizing eggs. Every time I lay eyes on that article, I want to try it. Last week, I bit the bullet and did it. And I can't wait to do it again! {'Cause by about egg #15, I had it all figured out...next time...}

I started with 18 eggs and the husband's wrench {as a hammer} and two different size nails.

I cupped the egg in my hand {'cause doing it any other way lead to breakage} and gently tapped to make two holes, with the larger on the bottom. {I did the holes on the same "side" of the egg, so they wouldn't show when the eggs were displayed.}

Make sure you puncture the yolk...and I found that running the eggs under hot water made the insides expel a little easier. And then...blow! {I planned to save the insides and make scrambled eggs for myself and the children, but quite frankly, blowing those insides through such a small hole...well, my mouth was all over the outside of the egg. I kept thinking of my friend who is totally schizo about salmonella, and" would I get salmonella? and should I wash the outside of the egg better?" I think I scared my children. It was hilarious. And grossly spitty. And because of that, I wound up blowing the insides right down the drain. My cheeks hurt and I got light headed a time or two, and my neighbor showed up at the kitchen door with a "what in the world are you doing" expression on her face.

Once the eggs were blown and I'd wiped my lip gloss off them {I won't wear anything on my lips next time}, and that might be way more than you ever wanted to know, I mixed my colors.

A few drops of food coloring to one cup of water in small pyrex bowls, plus 1 T white vinegar.

I tested each color on the edges of a paper towel. {Compliments of T's grandmother.}

I dyed all my eggs, gently blotting with a paper towel after I pulled them from the dye and let them air dry the rest of the way on a cookie cooling rack.

Then I deepened each color with more food coloring and poured them into soup bowls, so the bath would be super shallow, and added one T olive oil. Swirl the oil with a fork and dip the egg in, turning once. The oil helps make the swirly marbleized pattern. Pull her out and blot dry.

I bought some raffia at a local craft store and twisted it together to make a "nest" and set my nest atop a cake stand.

I made nests for a few extras in my grandmother's fine china coffee cups and in silver sherbet compotes {to line my mantel}.

And wha-la. Beautiful.

And while we're on the subject of eggs, over the course of the last four days, Mama Bird has laid three cream and brown speckled eggs in her nest. Hooray! Happy Spring!