Are you planning on hosting a brunch this Easter? We’re having some friends over and hubby will be cooking up a storm. My only contribution will be the hard boiled eggs. One of the few things I can make without burning down the kitchen ;-) Well to be honest I don’t actually make them. I have this kitchen gadget thing that you put the eggs in, set the timer and wait for it to go beeeuurrpp when they’re ready. It’s sooo easy. My only problem is I don’t have anything to serve the eggs on once they’re done, so we decided to make some of these rustic egg cups.
How To Make Rustic Wood Slice Egg Cup Holders
They can be used all year round and I think they’ll make a great gift for our guests too. The best part is that you can whip the rustic egg cups up in a flash, and they hardly cost a cent. A super idea for those “Oh darn, I don’t have enough egg cup moments”. All you need is a dried branch from a hardwood tree. Think oak, birch or maple. We love using branches to make something like our towel rack and even these quirky door handles that we made for our Unicorn Spit bathroom cupboard. They’re so versatile and add loads of character.
In God's garden of grace, even a broken tree can bear fruit.
We used a branch we cut down last year from one of our indigenous red karees. The red karee has the most beautiful, dusky pink wood grain that makes it perfect for this kind of project.
Just a branch
The branch needs to be about as thick as your arm and free of bugs and other creepy crawlies. Just smack it a few times on the floor and if anything flies or crawls out, pick another one.
You’ll also need:
- Food safe wood finish
- A 28 mm (1 1/4″) spade bit
- A countersink bit
- A saw and sand paper
To make the rustic egg cups, remove any small side branches and then cut the branch at an angle into slices about 2.5 cm or 1” thick. The thicker the branch and the wider the angle,the bigger the egg cups will be. Sand the top and bottom of the wood slices starting with 60 grit sand paper and work your way up to 180 grit to get a smooth finish.
Cut at an angle and sand
Time to drill some holes using the spade bit and the counter sink bit.
The drill bits we used
Use the spade bit to drill a hole all the way through at one end of wood slice and use the counter sink bit to drill a small indentation on the other end of the slice.
Make two holes
Sand any rough edges and spray the wood slices with white vinegar to disinfect them before applying a food safe wood finish.
Sealing the egg cup holders
We used Provencal furniture varnish to seal the rustic egg cup holders. I love this stuff, but I think it’s only available in South Africa. It goes on easy, dries pretty quickly and, best of all, it’s water, oil and wine resistant. Okay the wine bit might be an over kill at a brunch, but you can never be too careful with the friends we have. They’ll crack open a bottle of wine at the drop of a hat ;-) If you can’t find something similar then tung oil, raw linseed oil or beeswax are all egg-cellent alternatives. All yolks and puns aside, I’m pretty impressed with how they turned out.
Rustic egg cup holders
That small indentation is just perfect for a little sprinkle of salty goodness.
With a pinch of salt
They’re easy to store, easy to make and, bonus factor, they didn’t cost us a cent. I think the rustic egg cups look great on the slate heart serving board.
If you like the idea would you mind pinning me?
How will you be celebrating Easter? I’d love to hear about them and you’re welcome to egg me on with some egg puns. They’re always crack me up :D
Oh before I forget, if you’d like to make something similar or prefer to buy rather than DIY, 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 crafty ideas to share with you
30 comments
Fabulous usable rustic décor Michelle! I am sure it will be a great hot at your brunch! Happy Easter to you and your family!
hahah.. sorry! I meant “HIT” at the brunch but they might as well be hot :)
LOL :D HIT or HOT is good for me :D
Thank you so much Maya. Happy Easter to you too ;-)
What a great idea!
Thank you so much Cristina
I love eggs…what a great idea!! The wood slices are perfect…turned out awesome Michelle…love the little salt divot too!! ?
Thank you Michelle :D but I can’t take any credit for the divot, that was all hubby’s brilliance
Michelle, I absolutely love these. And you could adapt the idea for other items. So cool! I love wood slices and these turned out awesome. How creative are you?
I’m so happy you liked them Nikki, thanks a mil
What a great idea! We are a house of egg lovers, so I need to get on making these!
Ahhh thank you Carlee
This is really a cool project, very creative as always. As a food blogger, I can say apart from eggs, you can serve other items as well in these cups. Your DIY Projects are really amazing. and you have a beautiful stone heart.
Thank you for your lovely comment Sadhna, I appreciate it sooo much
Oh how clever you are, these are so pretty and I love that little spot for the salt, I was wondering at first what it was meant for! How cool! You always amaze me, how do you come up with these kinda projects! Love these!
Thank you Katrin. I figured it would be easier if everyone had a pinch of salt on hand and hubby actually suggested I use the counter sink bit to make the little indentation
Michelle, this is such a clever idea!! I wondered why you added the little indentation and when I read it was for the salt, I thought, “very clever”. You thought of everything Michelle. This is such a great way to serve eggs for brunch!!
Thank you so much Keri, a hard boiled egg wouldn’t be the same without a pinch of salt
Wow these are fabulous. I couldn’t tell from the photo what you were showcasing, but after reading, I get it. So so so cool.
Ahhh Alyssa, thank you so much
OK, I got it with the egg cups… But the heart? That heart is gorgeous. Are you going to tell us about it too? :)
Mmmmm, that’s an interesting one Gabi. They’re not that difficult to make, but a video tutorial would be the best way to explain it and my video skills leave a lot to be desired ;-)
Maaki ek love dit. Kan jy vir my maak asb?
Natuurlike ja ;-)
I love that you decided to elevate your contribution to the Easter meal (I, too, am not much of a whiz in the kitchen) by adding a DIY into the mix. It’s such a fun idea. Quite ingenious, really. Another home run, Michelle :)
Thank you Jelica :D I’d far rather be in the workshop hammering away than trying to figure out how to cook things
Every year for easter we dye eggs and then crack them open on the eve. Who
ever has an uncracked egg is blessed for the year. These would be perfect for my Easter eggs. And that gorgeous stone heart is not too shabby. Are you going to show us how to make that too? Please…
Ahhh that stone heart. Isn’t it beautiful Mary? It’s one of those projects that’s best explained with a video. Maybe your daughter can help me make one, I need all the advice I can get
Wow I think I’m in love with this DIY! By the way do you have an instagram account? I would love to follow you!
Thanks so much Katerina. We do have an instagram account, but I’ve been very bad with posting there for a bit. It’s https://www.instagram.com/acraftymix.blog/ and I’d love to connect