How To Make a Giant Faux Concrete Easter Egg

Ever heard the saying “go big or go home”? Well, here at a Crafty Mix we normally go small, but sometimes, just sometimes, we’ll go big 😀 Like when we made this giant faux metal key or this oversized bead garland. A change is always good, right?!! And since Easter is around the corner I thought I’d try making a giant faux concrete Easter egg to add to our décor this year.

 

Pretty cool methinks 😉 I added lights and faux succulents but you can place small chocolate Easter eggs, flowers, or a flameless candle inside instead or just leave it as is. The giant concrete Easter egg would also be perfect for creating fairy dioramas like this one here or a Easter variation of a book nook. 

 

And it fits right in with this month’s IBC Hoppingly Eggcellent Easter challenge too. Try saying that quickly 😀 The IBC, or International Blogger’s Club, is a group of bloggers from all over the world who challenge each other to make something using a common theme. Our previous challenge was Mixed Media and we spiced up some cardboard to honor the wild and wonderful continent we call home. You can see what my friends did with their Hoppingly Eggcellent Easter challenge at the bottom of the tutorial.

What you need for the giant faux concrete Easter egg

• A large oval balloon
• Outdoor or Hard Coat Mod podge
• Paper
• Black and white craft paint and paintbrush
• Texture paste (you can make your own or find it in most craft stores)
• Small bowl to balance the balloon on

 

Optional Extras

• Fairy lights
• Faux succulents
• Dried herbs or grated moss
• Burnt Umber and Sap Green Oil paint

Right, before we get to the tutorial, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. And don’t forget to subscribe so you’ll never miss a post!

How to make a giant Easter egg

Blow up your balloon, and knot off the end. Place the balloon on a small bowl or cup to keep it stable while you work.

 

Tear up strips of paper. Depending on the size of your balloon, you may need quite a bit. I think I used 10 sheets of paper in total.

 

Working in sections, paint a layer of mod podge on the balloon and then add the strips of paper.

 

Wait for the mod Podge to dry at least partially between layers. Keep adding layers of mod podge and paper until the whole balloon is covered.

 

The piccy above is after two layers of mod Podge and paper. 5 to 6 layers is ideal. You can use a torch to check for any spots you may have missed. It’s important to cover the whole balloon completely since it needs to be strong enough to support its own weight. So make sure to paint mod podge on the balloon before and after each layer and add enough layers.

Leave the mod podge balloon giant Easter egg to dry for about two days. You’ll know it’s ready when you tap it and it makes a hollow sound. Cut the knot and pop the balloon.   

 

Cover the hole where the balloon knot was with another 3-4 layers of paper and mod podge. Now I’m not sure if it’s just me, but whenever I mod podge paper onto a balloon, there are always these ridges where the paper overlaps. Does the same happen to you too? To smooth those ridges out a little I used some of our homemade texture paste and applied it all over the giant Easter egg, before marking and cutting a hole.

 

Turning the egg into concrete

Decision time. If you prefer a smooth concrete effect you can skip the next step and move straight to painting the egg. I love the roughly textured concrete effect of our moss mannequin so I decided to do the same on the giant egg. Add a little sand to the texture paste and smear it randomly all over with a stirrer stick. The more sand you add, the rougher the final look will be.

 

Wait for the texture paste to dry completely before adding a small drop of black craft paint to white craft paint. Add some water so it’s nice and runny.

 

Apply all over the texture paste with a paintbrush.

 

Once the first layer of paint dries, darken the grey paint with another small drop of black and randomly brush the darker grey over the first coat of light grey.

 

Aging the concrete paint effect

I wanted to give my giant concrete Easter egg a well worn aged look. To age, mix a tiny bit of burnt umber and sap green oil paints with turpentine. Starting with burnt umber drizzle it onto the top of the giant egg with a paintbrush.

 

Let it run down freely and pool in the rough texture. Follow up with drizzles of sap green.

 

Add a little moss, by applying clear glue to the giant egg and sprinkling some herbs or small, grated bits of moss over the top.

 

Decorating the inside of the giant faux concrete Easter egg

There are so many different ways to decorate the inside of your faux concrete egg. You can put fairy lights and faux succulents inside as we did. The fairy lights are just stuck inside at the top of the Giant egg. Or you can create a teeny tiny fairy diorama using any of these tutorials. It would also look lovely filled with real Easter eggs or a small bunny. It’s all up to you.

 

Don’t you just love the way the giant concrete Easter egg turned out?

 

I placed ours on a bed of greenery.

 

And she looks so awesome at night when our lights are turned down low. What do you think and what would you put inside?

 

If you like the idea of making a giant concrete Easter egg don’t forget to pin it for later.

 

Don’t forget to go have a look at what my friends from the IBC have done with their Hoppingly Eggcellent Easter Challenge.

 

Unique Creations by Anita | Raggedy Bits

 

Interior Frugalista | Faeries and Fauna

 

Sweet Things

Oh and if you’re looking for some of the things we used, we’ve got you covered Disclosure: Clicking on the links below, means we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us come up with more amazing craft ideas to share with you 😉

Please note, we may not have personally tried all of the products listed above, but where ever possible we have tried to find the best products to use. Our aim is to help speed up your creative process. And if you’d rather buy than DIY then perhaps these beauties will appeal.

And as always, here’s wishing you a beautiful, crafty week filled with lots of love. Stay safe, remember to wash your hands and I hope you have a Hoppingly Eggcellent Easter. Thank you so much for popping in for a visit.