Washi Tape Easter Eggs

Sometimes, I get really excited about a new art material.

This time, it was washi tape - printed translucent tape originating in Japan.  It's not exactly new - but it was new to me when local art store collage started carrying it.

I've been looking at it and drooling every time I go to collage to teach a class - so I finally developed a class to actually use it! Easter eggs with their bold stripes of festive color seemed like the perfect opportunity.

What You Need:

Papier Mache egg shapes
Old egg carton to hold eggs while you work
Gesso
Craft paints
Washi tapes
Mod Podge
Scissors, xactoor craft knife
Brushes, water, rags

Optional: 
Tiny screw eyes
Thick craft glue
Narrow ribbon

You're Ready to Start:

The egg shapes I used were brown, so I started by painting them with two coats of gesso. Since the tape is relatively translucent, the white background helps the color show more brilliantly. Here's the egg after one coat:

The tape doesn't work well to cover the steep curves of the very ends of the eggs, so I painted the bottom and top 1/4 of the egg, leaving the center of the egg free for washi tape.

Measure the circumference of the egg at the widest point - mine were 6" around.  That helps you determine how much tape to pull off the roll.

Start by wrapping tape around the very center of the egg.

Because of the curve of the egg, the tape won't lay completely flat. It will probably be lifting up along the top edge.  Use your xacto knife to cut tiny slits in the tape every 1/4" to 1/2" along the top edge.  This will create what are essentially darts, and will enable you to press the tape flat. The edges of the cuts will overlap slightly.

Now, you can repeat the process by adding tape on either side of the center stripe, cutting the little darts, and pressing the tape down.

Awesome! You've got stripes!

At this point, you can seal the egg with Mod Podge and call it good - or, you can prepare the eggs for hanging.  Take a small screw eye and dip the end in thick craft glue.  Screw it into the top of the egg and make sure there's a little extra craft glue sealing the hole.

Once the glue has dried, cut 6"-12" worth of narrow ribbon and tie it through the screw eye for hanging.

Here's a few of the ones my students did during the collage workshop last week:

Love the skulls! The possibilities are endless!