What's easter without some colorful decorated eggs! Living in France, I have yet to come across egg dyeing kits - I'm not sure if that's something they do here. So, I decided paint some eggs with my #brightbrushstrokes to conjure some springtime magic!

Note: I don't recommend using this technique if you plan to eat the eggs. I'm using acrylic paint and this is for decoration purposes only.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

hard-boiled eggs
paint - I use acrylic paint, choose colors that speak to you!
paint brush
gloss
glue - I use decopatch, you could also use mod podge
gold foil

Painted Eggs

1. Take a clean hard-boiled egg and paint it a solid color. This creates a nice colorful backdrop to start with. Let the egg dry fully.

2. With a second color add random brushstrokes all over the egg and let it dry.

Repeat these steps with different colors until the egg is covered in colorful goodness!

3. Add a layer of gloss to seal in the color and add a little shine to your eggs. Et voila!

I used a small nail polish brush to add the small details.

Gold foil Eggs

1. With a paint brush, cover the full surface of a clean hard-boiled egg with glue. It's nice to give the egg a little time to dry before adding the gold foil.

2. To add gold foil, lay a full sheet of foil over the egg and lightly smooth the foil over the egg.

3. Let the foil dry for about 10 minutes, then remove any excess foil. And that's it!

I hope this little tutorial adds some springtime joy to your easter baskets! I'd love to see your colorful brushstroke eggs!! Be sure to tag #ettavee if you do post them :)

xo,

Jessi

Calling all color-lovers, I have the card for you!! I was looking at ways to re-vamp my business cards and I wanted to create something that portrayed my brand, which is bright and colorful, while also showing my handcrafted aesthetic. So I decided, why not create some eye-catching hand painted business cards to represent my fine art and art print business! The cards have been so well received I figured i'd share the "how-to" with all of you!

What you'll need:

printed out business cards w/ crop marks - I use A4 (similar to US letter size) 250g paper
paint brushes
paint - I use acrylic paint, choose colors that speak to you!
gloss
x-acto knife or box-cutter
ruler
scissors

Step 1: Paint

Take your printed business card pages and place the page text side down. Start with one paint color and freely paint strokes across the back side of the page. I like to use warm colors as my base, but feel free to use any color your heart desires :)

Pick up a second paint color and paint strokes in the empty white spaces. Take some time to blend the two color together.

Wait for the paint to dry and start in with a third color. I like to use a darker color here to add some depth.

Keep layering your page with different colors, but not too many layers. You don't want the paper to get too damp and heavy.

Step 2: Cut

Once your page is fully dry, place your page text side up. Using the crop marks as your guide, place align your ruler with the crop marks and cut horizontally and vertically.

Pretty pretty scraps to re-use for another project!

STEP 3: Details

This step isn't necessary, but something I like to do. Take a look your cards and give them a touch-up if you find they're in need of some color or detail.

STEP 4: Cut

If you so wish, snip the corners of you cards to give them a unique shape!

STEP 5: Gloss & Finish

Add a layer of gloss on top to seal in your paint and add a little shimmer and shine!

ET VOILA !

Your cards are ready to meet the world!! I love it when paint accidentally ends up on the front side of the card, it's little imperfections that makes handmade so one-of-a-kind!

I would LOVE to see your versions! Tag your finished cards with #ettavee !!

xo,

Jessi