Washi eggs

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These eggs make beautiful Easter decorations for your home, but are also very special gifts for family and friends.

You'll need:

Yuzen paper or wrapping paper
Real or wooden eggs
Metal skewer or large needle
Small sharp scissors
Lead pencil, ruler, paintbrush, Chux cloth
Soft tape measure or 1cm-wide paper strip
Paste, such as Clag
Teaspoon
Water-based varnish
Plastic bottle top

Here's how:

Step 1
To blow a real egg, pierce a small hole at each end of the egg with a skewer or large needle, making one hole slightly larger than the other. Blow into the smaller hole until the contents are removed. Rinse and blow again to remove trapped water. Let dry for 24 hours.

Step 2
Measure the height of the egg using a cloth tape measure or paper strip by holding one end at the top of the egg, bringing it down around the bottom and back up to the top. Divide this measurement in two. Wrap the tape around the egg at the widest part to determine the circumference of the egg. Using the two measurements, cut a rectangle of paper and with right sides facing, fold it in half so the long sides meet.

Step 3
Rule two lines on the wrong side of the folded paper. The first: parallel to and 1.5cm from the cut edges; and the other: parallel to and 0.5cm from the fold. Mark 1cm intervals across the width of the paper along both lines and lightly pencil in.

Rule and cut a zigzag pattern between the 1cm vertical lines along the unfolded edge from the top of paper down to the 1.5cm line. Cut along the vertical lines down to the line 0.5cm from the fold, creating a picket-fence effect.

Step 4
Gently open out the rectangle. Wrap the paper around the egg so the tips of the pickets, when pushed together, meet. To accurately position the paper, use a pencil to mark the egg where the ends of the foldline in the paper meet. Mix paste with water to a thick runny consistency with no lumps. Use a brush to apply the paste quite heavily to the top half of the egg.

Holding the fold of the paper on the pencil line, push down the pickets one at a time, overlapping each one so the points meet at the top. Apply extra paste to the paper around the top section. Make any adjustments while the paste is still wet.

When all the top pickets have been pushed down, rub extra paste over the surface and press down any loose edges. Wipe away excess glue with a damp cloth. Invert the egg, gently press back the remaining pickets then repeat for other end.

Gently rub the egg all over with the back of a spoon to smooth out any air bubbles or wrinkles. Trim excess paper at tips if necessary and cover any gaps by gluing on leftover scraps of paper.

Set egg on plastic bottle top and leave to dry thoroughly. Apply a light coat of varnish to one end of the egg, let dry and repeat for other end. Apply six coats of varnish in this way, allowing the eggs to dry completely between coats.

Create washi eggs to keep and display all year!

Japanese papers and washi egg kits from Japan Crafts, phone (02) 9418 8527