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60 Simple Easter Egg Designs, From Cute to Beautiful

All our best egg decorating ideas in one basket! (Well, technically, it's a list).

By Charlyne Mattox and Terri Robertson
easter eggs designs that mimic vintage dishes, like spatterware, yelloware, transferware, jadeite, pyrexpinterest icon
Brian Woodcock

On the hunt for simple and beautiful Easter egg designs to round out your Easter decorations on April 9? Here, we've gathered the best ideas from the crafty editors at Country Living and looked far and wide to collect the best blogger projects too.

Whether you’re using a store-bought dye kit or natural egg-dyeing techniques, pull out that craft bin. Buttons, rickrack, twine, paint pens, crepe paper, foraged garden finds, and wire (for ladybug antennae, of course) are your new go-to Easter egg decorations. Love vintage dishes? On this list, you'll find the cutest Easter egg decorating ideas that mimic the look of transferware, spatterware, jadeite, lettuceware, and yellowware too! With so many fun options, an egg decorating competition between the adults and kids at your Easter celebration may be in order.

Finally, if you’re looking for alternatives to hardboiled eggs, you have a few options. You can make “blown” Easter eggs, which are quite delicate but will last for years (find instructions in our first idea). Or you can forgo natural eggs entirely. With a coat of paint instead of dye, papier-mâché eggs, wooden eggs, or foam eggs will work just fine for most of these Easter egg decorating ideas. And if you find yourself on a roll, we've got so many more Easter crafts for you to try!

1

Keepsake Blown Easter Eggs

blown easter eggs dyed pastel blue, green, yellow or orange with 3 d flower decorations
Frances Janisch

Make these pastel beauties last for years by first blowing out the egg whites and yolks. Here, we've glued on tiny scrapbooking flowers as decorations, but you can use this technique (steps 1–4) for any natural Easter egg designs that you would like to keep.

Step 1: Insert a long needle into the bottom of each egg; make a small hole, then make a slightly larger one in the top.

Step 2: Move the needle around inside the shell to break the yolk.

Step 3: Blow over the smaller hole—feel free to use a straw if you don't want to touch the egg directly—until the liquid drips out of the larger hole.

Step 4: Run the egg under water. Blow the water out, and let the shell dry overnight.

Step 5: After coloring the egg, attach fabric scrapbooking flowers with tiny dots of glue. Lightly press each flower with your finger, then release.

SHOP SCRAPBOOK FLOWERS

2

Button Eggs

pastel dyed easter eggs decorated with colorful vintage buttons
Becky Stayner

Head the the sewing basket and grab the spare buttons to create these jewel-like beauties.

To make: Start by dyeing eggs the same colors as the buttons. Once dry, hot-glue buttons to the eggs, either covering completely or in a center band.

3

Transferware Easter Egg Decor

easter egg decorating idea featuring cutout and decoupaged pieces from blue and white chinoiserie paper napkins
Brian Woodcock

Cut designs from floral paper napkins. Adhere to eggs with glossy Mod Podge.

SHOP BLUE FLORAL PAPER NAPKINS

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4

Radish Eggs

easter eggs decorated to look like radishes
David Hillegas

Good enough to eat, these radish eggs can either be painted or dyed.

To make: Paint or dye three-quarters of a blown-out white egg pink. Create roots by attaching pieces of off-white twine to the bottom with hot-glue. Roll up light green crepe paper to create a stem; seal seam with glue. Cut leaves from crepe paper; wrap around stem, and attach with glue. Glue stem to top of egg.

SHOP CREPE PAPER

5

Jadeite Easter Eggs

easter egg decorating ideas
Brian Woodcock

Use white Puffy Paint to dot the raised patterns on eggs. Once dry, paint eggs with glossy green acrylic paint to mimic vintage jadeite.

SHOP 3D PAINT

6

Temporary Tattoo Easter Eggs

temporary tatoo designs featuring butterflies, moths, birds, insects adhered to easter eggs as decorations
Burcu Avsar

The secret behind these botanical beauties? Country Living contributing editor Jodi Kahn used temporary tattoo paper.

Step 1: Begin by downloading free images from graphicsfairy.blogspot.com and thevintagemoth.blogspot.com

Step 2: Arrange them in a Microsoft Word document, resizing each to fit on an egg.

Step 3: Print the images on tattoo paper, cut them out, and adhere to blown-out eggs, following package instructions.

SHOP TEMPORARY TATOO PAPER

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7

Lavender Sprig Easter Egg

pale purple easter egg design decorated with lavender sprig tucked into twine wrapped six times around the center
Brian Woodcock

Just looking at this egg gives us a peaceful feeling! To make it, dye an egg purple, then wrap it several times with white string and thread dried lavender sprigs through string.

SHOP BAKER'S TWINE

8

Cross-Stitch Initial Easter Egg

capital letter r painted on a brown easter egg with a white paint pen to look like cross stitch design
Brian Woodcock

It's easy to make a "cross-stitch" egg, and no, you don't have to be an artist to make it happen: Draw small x’s (to mimic cross-stitches) with a paint pen in the shape of an initial on natural or dyed eggs.

SHOP WHITE PAINT PENS

9

Egg Tree

easter egg tree displayed in a vintage tea tin decorated with painted eggs hung with ribbon
Becky Stayner

The German tradition of decorating trees dates back centuries. To make this version, fill a tea tin with floral foam and insert blooming branches (here, dogwood). Hang dyed blown or painted wooden eggs using a length of ribbon looped around the egg and held in place with a wooden craft bead.

Related: DIY Easter Tree Ideas to Dress Up Your Holiday Table

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10

Coordinated Rustic Trio

trio of easter eggs designs decorated with twine, floral paper napkins, and paint
David Hillegas

You don't have to choose just one Easter egg design. We love this coordinated country trio decorated using an assortment of techniques: traditional dye, decoupage, and twine. Consider other ways you might mix and match designs as you scroll through the decoration ideas on this list.

Robin's Egg: To create the base color shown above, add two drops of green food coloring to standard blue egg dye, and then dye egg. Once dry, dip a fine-tipped paintbrush in a small bowl of brown liquid ink (available at craft stores) and splatter on the egg.

Paper Napkin Egg: Unfold a pretty floral paper napkin and cut into ½-inch-wide strips. Use Mod Podge and a small paintbrush to adhere strips to the egg, lining up the pattern and trimming away any excess napkin. Once covered, let dry, then apply a final coat of Mod Podge.

Twine Egg: Use a small paintbrush to apply crafter's glue onto the top of an egg. Starting in the center of the top, wrap twine (we used four-ply red and white twine) into a tight circle. Continue to brush on glue and wrap the egg until it is completely covered. (You will use approximately 12 feet of twine.) Trim excess.

11

Basket-Inspired Easter Egg

easter egg design that makes the egg look like woven basket filled with smaller colorful easter eggs
Brian Woodcock

Talk about a meta Easter egg! To achieve this look, draw a basket on the front of a white egg using a brown paint pen. Next, use pastel paint pens to draw eggs. When the paint is dry, add details on the eggs with a fine-point white paint pen.

SHOP PAINT PENS

12

Three-Dimensional Butterfly Easter Egg

3d butterfly easter egg decoration made from stiffened vintage floral fabric
Brian Woodcock

We can't get over this lovely design. To mimic the look, brush both sides of a small piece of ditsy floral fabric with Mod Podge, then hang it to dry. Draw a butterfly on stiffened fabric and cut out, then hot-glue the beautiful creature to a natural or dyed egg.

SHOP BUTTERFLY STICKERS

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13

Faux Bois Easter Egg

faux bois easter egg design created with a fine tip white paint pen
Brian Woodcock

The fun part about this design idea is that you don't need to dye your eggs to make it happen (although you can): Start with naturally brown eggs, then sketch a wood-grain pattern with a white paint pen.

SHOP WHITE PAINT PENS

14

Swedish Folk Art Easter Egg

colorful swedish folk art floral design painted on white easter egg
Brian Woodcock

Here's a truly original design idea! Using pastel paint pens, draw a folk art flower pattern (search “Swedish floral folk art” online for inspiration).

SHOP PASTEL PAINT PENS

15

Watercolor Gingham Easter Egg

pastel yellow and green gingham design painted on a white easter egg for a simple decoration
Brian Woodcock

Everyone will be praising your creativity if you can pull off this country-chic egg. The secret? It's simple! Using watercolors and a flat-tipped bristle brush, simply paint horizontal stripes on a white egg. Once dry, paint vertical stripes in a complementary color.

SHOP WATERCOLORS

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16

Speckled Egg Garland

pale blue, aqua and white easter egg garland decorating a mantel
David Hillegas

Display this simple to make garland year after year.

To make: Use an awl to poke holes in ends of papier-mâché eggs, then paint eggs white, robin’s-egg blue, and turquoise with acrylic paint. Once dry, spatter with dark blue paint. Thread twine through holes, and hang, adding a tassel detail, if desired.

SHOP PAPIER-MACHE EGGS

17

Ladybug Easter Egg

ladybug easter egg design decorated with paint pen, dye, and craft wire
Brian Woodcock

It's both an Easter egg and an April Fool's joke waiting to happen! For this design, just draw a ladybug pattern with a black paint pen on a pink dyed egg. Then, cut antennae from black craft wire; attach with hot glue.

SHOP BLACK PAINT PENS

18

Colorful Silk-Dyed Easter Egg

silk dyed easter egg decorations designs
Brian Woodcock

Who knew that silk fabric transfers onto eggshells as easily as the dye in a decorating kit? Regular old vinegar plus hot water does the trick. For this easy design, just wrap a white egg with a patterned piece of colorful 100% silk fabric. (The patterned side should face inward.) Hold the fabric in place with a twist tie, then boil in water with 1/4 cup white vinegar for 20 minutes. Remove, cool, then unwrap.

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19

Gray and White Silk-Dyed Eggs

gray and white silk dyed easter eggs featuring paisley and other organic designs
Allison Gootee/Studio D

Same concept as above, but here we limited ourselves to black-and-white silk prints to achieve a monochromatic effect.

Step 1: For each egg, cut out a 5-inch square of patterned 100 percent silk. Lightly dampen the fabric, then lay it flat, right side up, and place your egg in the center. Gather the fabric tightly around the egg, like a beggar's purse, and secure with a rubber band. Repeat this step for the same egg, using a same-size square of plain white cotton and a second rubber band. Note: Use blown eggs if you'd like to keep your handiwork longer.

Step 2: Place eggs in a single layer in a nonreactive pot and add enough water to cover them by 2 inches. Add 4 tablespoons of white vinegar. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes.

Step 3: Remove eggs with tongs and cool about 20 minutes. Then unwrap the fabrics to reveal the exquisite designs.

20

Lemon Easter Egg

pale yellow lemon easter egg design decorated with green felt leaf cutouts
Brian Woodcock

This "lemon egg" is way too cute. Here's how to bring it to life: Just dye an egg yellow, then draw small spots with a black paint pen to resemble a lemon's exterior. Finally, roll a small rectangle of brown felt into a tube, holding it closed with hot glue, and attach green felt leaves with more hot-glue. Glue the stem to the egg, and you're done!

SHOP GREEN FELT

Lettermark
Charlyne Mattox
Food and Crafts Director
Charlyne Mattox is Food and Crafts Director for Country Living.
Lettermark

Terri Robertson is the Senior Editor, Digital, at Country Living, where she shares her lifelong love of homes, gardens, down-home cooking, and antiques. 

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Easter Ideas

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