how to: gold leaf easter eggs

ok so there might not be any kids running around this apartment just yet but whatever. Can't a childless 29 year old enjoy some of this season's festivities? and maybe make herself a fancy egg sandwich out her crafts in a day or two before they rot? can I not live like Beyonce for a day and have everything dipped in gold? ok good, i thought so, too. Anyway, I told Andrew early this morning that I thought it would be fun to make Easter eggs for literally no reason at all and god love that dude for getting me all the supplies needed! scroll down if you would like to create your own speckled gold leaf easter eggs!  

first, boil your eggs! bring your water to a boil and drop them in for about 10 minutes. afterward, allow them to cool for a few minutes. If you want to color the eggs before adding the gold leaf, you'll need:

- 1 cup warm water (for each color)

 - 2 teaspoons of vinegar (for each color)

- food coloring

does that make sense? so like, I did 6 colors meaning I needed 6 glasses each filled with 2 cups water, 2 teaspoons vinegar and my color drops (about 10 drops of each color) 

 drop in each egg for about 5 minutes and pull out gently. 

 allow to drip dry on a paper towel. Don't worry if they aren't perfect, you can cover the blemishes in gold- just the way god intended.

Now for the really fun part!! for adding your gold leaf, you'll need:

 - gold leaf sheets. Andrew picked up this kit at Michael's and used a 40% off coupon from the Michael's app. I hear they also have silver leaf and copper leaf and if that's the case, someone let me know!

- a cheap paint brush

- tweezers

Begin by applying the adhesive to your egg with your paint brush. it doesn't need to be perfect and it doesn't need to be everywhere. In theory, wherever you put the adhesive, expect that section to be gold in the end. Gold leaf is mega thin, sensitive, and will stick to anything.  So feel free to make them as fancy and golden as you like. Use your tweezers to peel off small pieces of gold leaf from the sheet and gently lay the pieces to the adhesive along your egg. Wipe it smooth with your brush. I used my fingers here and there because I have the patience of a toddler but it seemed to work out fine! Gold leaf isn't the most forgivable medium but it's also hard to screw up, in my opinion. It's shiny and pretty so who cares- put it on everything. Repeat this step 200 times on each egg. 

Andrew made one egg (I won't tell you which one!) and I made the rest. My fingers look extra fancy and kind of expensive but I love the final project! (i type this as my fingertips are coated in gold but I aint mad about it!) Some day we'll be stuffing baskets with fake plastic grass, reese cups, and peeps but until then… gimme all the gold!!