by Laura Johnson

Created on: March 05, 2009

Spring is just around the corner and you may be searching for some new, creative craft ideas for your kids to complete. As a former elementary teacher, I was always searching for quick, cheap, and easy projects to do with my students. "Egg Explosion" is one of those go-to projects I could have the kids work on when we had some down time. You may remember doing 'crayon resist' projects in your elementary school days. It's the simple technique of using crayons to color designs on white paper and then painting over the crayon designs using black watercolor paint. It's an easy, fun, and practical project your kids will enjoy doing, and the finished products serve as beautiful artwork to display at Easter time.

Here is what you will need for this project: large white construction paper, card stock, crayons, black watercolor paint, medium to large-sized paintbrushes, newspapers (to prevent messes), and a cup of water for cleaning brushes.

First, spread newspapers over your work space because the paint will be messy. On card stock, draw one or two large egg shapes. Cut out the eggs to use as templates for the next step of the project. Use the egg template to trace eggs randomly all over a piece of white construction paper. It's best to trace six or more eggs. Next, color the eggs, pressing hard with crayons to make designs and fill the eggs with color. Have your kids draw symbols of things they like, whether it is sports, animals, etc. Or if they like, they can just decorate them with bold stripes and swirls of color. Since it is spring, you may want to use pastel and lighter colored crayons. Be sure to press very, very hard with the crayons and fill in all white spots. The darker your eggs are, the better it will look. Any objects you want to be white must be colored with a white crayon, so that the black paint is resisted and the object remains white.

Next, paint over the eggs using black watercolor. Use even, dark strokes to cover the entire paper. The paint will not cover the crayon because it is waxy and resists the paint. The darker you paint the paper, the better the final product will be. Place the paper in a safe place and allow to dry for at least one hour. Notice how the contrast of the colorful eggs against the dark black really makes the eggs seem to jump off the page. Finally, display your beautiful artwork in a place for all to admire.

Note: This project is recommended for eight to twelve year olds, but can certainly be adapted for kids younger or older. For example, younger children may only be able to color one or two eggs, and you may have to help with the coloring and painting.

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