Lydia Parkinson February 28, 2022

This affordable DIY is perfect for transitioning your home from late winter to spring decor! I have always loved the tradition of painting eggs with family for Easter, but it seemed, dare I say, “pointless” when the eggs were either cracked for cooking or tossed after a week or two. By draining the eggs you can reuse your favorite designs next Easter, and the Easter after that. Not to mention, you can still use the eggs for cooking! The total project cost me less $3. That being said, I did have a lot of the materials already, but most of these things are common household items.

Chicken eggs in a bowl that have been drained and painted in springtime illustrations and colors.

What You’ll Need

Various supplies are displayed on a brown paper background: four eggs, acrylic paint, scotch tape, paint brushes, a pallet, a sewing pin, and a toothpick
  • Large grade AA eggs
  • Sewing needle
  • Toothpick
  • Paintbrushes
  • Acrylic paint – I’d like to experiment with watercolor in the future also 🙂
  • Pallet (you can easily use a paper plate)
  • Paper towels or dishrags for keeping things clean
  • A glass bowl or dish

Draining The Eggs

A hand is holding a white chicken egg that has clear tape on the wider bottom of the egg-a black arrow is pointed at the tape.
Step 1
A hand is holding a white chicken egg that has clear tape on the narrower top of the egg with a sewing pin that a has a pink head sticking out of it.
Step 2
A hand is holding a white chicken egg that has clear tape on the wider bottom of the egg with a toothpick sticking out of the egg where the tape is located.
Step 3
A hand is holding a white chicken egg right side up over a square glass container. There is a black arrow pointing down next to the egg.
Step 4
Seven eggs that are both brown and white sit on a white paper towel to dry after being washed.
Step 5

To drain the eggs is fairly easy, but it is somewhat time consuming, so prepare to watch a good show while doing this DIY. Also, if you’re getting stuck while doing this project there are lots of great videos online. I used this one.

You’ll want to start by prepping a surface you don’t mind getting dirty and have some paper towels on hand to clean up as you go. Then, you can start draining the eggs.

  1. Add clear tape to both ends of the egg. This helps to prevent shell cracking when you make the holes for draining.
  2. Carefully puncture the top, skinnier part of the egg with the sewing needle. I recommend twisting the needle back and forth slowly. Once the needle has broken through the shell, make small circles to gradually widen the hole. You don’t want it too big, but it needs to be about three times the size of the original needle puncture.
  3. Do the same thing on the other end of the egg but with the toothpick. You can also swish around the egg contents with the toothpick so that it is easier to blow out in the next step.
  4. With the bottom of the facing the inside of a glass dish, you will now blow through the hole made by the needle. If this grosses you out I’ve seen some people put a straw over the hole also, so your moth doesn’t touch the egg. The egg contents might come out slowly at first, but once you get it going it should be pretty easy. If you’re having a hard time I suggest using the toothpick to swish around the contents some more, or making your holes bigger.
  5. Once the egg is completely drained, you can run it under cold water being sure to let water go into the holes and blew out the egg once more over the sink. Dry it off and you’re done!

Painting! The Fun Part

This step is pretty straight forward. You can go straight into painting, or you can plan out some designs on paper beforehand. I knew I wanted floral designs, so I just went for it. It’s also helpful to look to other artists and creators for inspiration though, and I attached some of my favorites below. I also took a lot of inspiration from art that wasn’t necessarily on Easter eggs, which I recommend also!

Wooden Easter eggs that have been painted in floral patterns and are laying on a grey knitted cloth.
via Mille et une idées
Brown eggs are painted in blue Easter tones and are displayed in a white ceramic bowl.
via HR Homestead
wooden eggs are painted in various floral patterns and are in a variety of vibrant colors.
via Clare Therese
Chicken eggs in a bowl that have been drained and painted in springtime illustrations and colors.

I ultimately went in with acrylic paint in pink, blue, and yellow hues and freehanded some designs. It was hard to be precise with the paint brushes I had, so I ended up going in with ink and adding some details and outlines. I’m happy with the overall effect and I’m excited to reuse this DIY for next Easter! Let me know how you liked this project below.