How to Make "Flowering" Easter Eggs

 by mrcrumley
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flowering_egg.jpg
After posting last year's "Irretrievable Easter Egg", quite a few (fortunately, not all) of you were aghast that I'd prank innocent kids that way. So this year, I created a "prank" that everyone should find light-hearted and way cool.

Basically, I developed an egg that, when picked up, would leave behind a little cloth flower pinned to the ground. There's still room left in the egg for candy, so even the most sensitive kids should have no psychic scaring trauma from this project.

Step 1: Materials

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Here's what I used:
  • A bag of 42 plastic eggs
  • A bag of Hershey's chocolate Springtime Flowers (seemed appropriate)
  • Some wire coat hangers
  • Leftover fabric scraps
  • Hot glue
  • A copping saw
  • A pair of pliers

Step 2: Make the Flowers

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I'm not a flower-making expert, and there are probably a lot better ways of making fabric flowers out there. But, I sorta threw these together at the last minute so here's how I did it.

I cut the fabric into rough square and circular shapes. Then, I made cut around the edges to form the petals. I went really fast, so they are pretty rough. Then I cut a bunch of smaller circles for the flower centers (pollen bulbs?). A dab of hot glue keeps the flowers together.

To pin the flowers to the ground, I cut 8" sections out of the coat hangers and bent them into really long staples. These are pretty much what you can buy at your local garden center for $3. So, those of you rolling in money could skip this step and just go buy them.

The flowers are finished by hot-gluing each one onto the bridge of a staple.

Step 3: Cut the Eggs

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The next step was a little tricky. I had to find a way to easily cut off the pointy end of the egg without cracking the plastic. The best way I found was to hold the egg against a work bench and saw off the end with a coping saw. There are probably better ways, but this was the easiest I could come up with. A band saw is probably the best way, but I don't have one of those :(

You also have to make sure the hole isn't big enough for the candy to slip through. The size of the hole will sorta be determined by the candy you stick inside.

Step 4: Install the Eggs

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Place a flower inside an egg and slide the staple through the hole. press the staple into the ground while keeping the fabric balled up inside the egg. Place the candy inside the top half of the egg and close the egg.

Now, when the egg is picked up, a flower will be left behind in the ground while the candy stays in the egg.

My Easter Egg Hunt is tomorrow, so I don't have pictures or a video of the eggs in action. But, I'll update once I do.

mrcrumley (author) says: Apr 6, 2012. 1:46 PM
Many people have suggested using a dremel cutoff wheel to cut the end off the eggs and I agree. That's the best way to do this.
MomLovesElectro says: Apr 6, 2012. 12:22 PM
This is a great Idea and a perfect way to celebrate spring!

I might just use store bought fake silk flowers instead. Because I might have some laying around, since I have more use of leftover fabric than I do silk flowers.
Reed_Sky_Born says: Apr 5, 2012. 12:09 AM
Very unique and interesting
mygibzone says: Apr 3, 2012. 8:51 PM
This is very unique! I'm always on the look out for new things to try for our easter egg hunt & this is perfect. Thanks for sharing!
mrcrumley (author) in reply to mygibzoneApr 4, 2012. 6:30 AM
You're welcome.
justjimAZ says: Jul 31, 2010. 8:14 PM
I will use this next year. The irretrievable egg was funnier though.
Arbitror says: Apr 4, 2010. 9:48 PM
Heheh, your white flowers looks more like egg white and yolk... That's what I first thought when I saw the into picture! Good job by the way! ;)
mrcrumley (author) in reply to ArbitrorApr 5, 2010. 6:42 AM
 You know, you're right. That's actually kinda neat in it's own way. Nice observation.
dirtydiaperchanger says: Apr 4, 2010. 6:43 PM
This is great!  My daughter is two and we just had her first egg hunt yesterday, definitely going to be making these next year.
rotf101 says: Apr 4, 2010. 8:40 AM
 Nice job! As a side note on cutting open the tops of the eggs, try using a Dremel. It's a small rotary tool that is super useful for small crafts.
dombeef says: Apr 4, 2010. 7:34 AM
That is very funny!
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