Project: Silver and gold eggs

Perfectly precious, these gold- and silver-leafed eggs are lovely when displayed in a bowl and delightful as party favours or prizes for an egg hunt.

GATHER
• Small flat paintbrushes
• Blown eggs, as many as desired, clean and dry
• Decoupage medium
• Synthetic gold or silver leaf, 3 sheets for each egg (from an art or crafts supply store

CREATE
1 Using a paintbrush, cover an egg entirely with decoupage medium.

2 Immediately place a sheet of gold or silver leaf on the egg, pressing lightly onto the surface with the brush handle. Place two more sheets of leaf on the egg, pressing each onto the egg and covering it completely.

3 To enhance the sheen, brushrepeatedly over the leaf-covered egg with the bristle end of a clean, dry paintbrush. Set the egg aside and let it dry.

4 Repeat this process for each egg.

Tip: Metal leaf is very lightweight and tends to blow around while you work with it. To minimize mess, position your work area away from open windows and out of the path of any fans.

Matthew Mead is the style editor at Country Home magazine, Holiday with Matthew Mead, and a line of ornaments with Wedgwood and The American Folk Art Museum. He lives in New Hampshire.

Excerpted from Easter Eggs: 40 Fabulous Projects for the Whole Family by Matthew Mead. Copyright 2007 by Matthew Mead and Downtown Bookworks Inc. Excerpted with permission by Chronicle Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced without permission in writing from the publisher.

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