I’ve always loved the look of hand-painted Easter eggs – those ones with delicate little animals and spring florals – but I’ve never felt particularly confident in my ability to paint cute bunnies or chicks freehand. They just never turn out quite right when I try.
Then a few weeks ago, I was wandering through the home store and spotted these adorable napkins covered in the sweetest little spring animals. That’s when it hit me: why paint when I could just use these?
A bit of Mod Podge magic, some simple painted details, and suddenly I could have exactly the look I wanted without needing any actual illustration skills. These turned out even better than I’d hoped, and they were genuinely easy to make.
Supplies Used
- White matte finish craft eggs (foam or plastic)
- Decorative napkins with small motifs (I found mine at the home store)
- Mod Podge
- Acrylic paint in pastel colours (I used pink, yellow, sage green, and lavender)
- Small paintbrushes (one for painting, one detail brush for embellishments)
- Hot glue gun and parchment paper (for making stands)
- Pencil (optional, for marking)
Rather watch than read? Check out the full video by clicking the video below!
Let’s Get Started!
I gotta be honest. These turned out better than I expected, and I want to make a hundred more. 🤣 So grab your supplies, and let’s make some Easter eggs!
Step 1: Paint the Base
I started by sketching a light pencil circle in the centre of each egg – just a rough guide to show where I’d eventually place my napkin animal. This helped me know where to paint around and keep that middle section relatively clean. Then I picked out some soft, pastel-y spring colours and painted the eggs around those central circles. This is one of those steps where perfection really doesn’t matter.
My first coat showed my fingerprints, and when I set the eggs down to dry, some of the paint smudged. I just touched everything up with a second coat, and it evened out nicely. You’ll inevitably have a spot where your fingers hold the egg, but once everything dries and you add the details, it’s barely noticeable.
Step 2: Add Simple Details
Once the base paint was dry, I grabbed my smaller detail brush and added some very simple embellishments around the open circle. I’m talking genuinely simple here – I’m not an experienced acrylic painter, so I kept things minimal.
The pink egg: I painted a thin outline around the opening and added tiny dots.
The yellow one: I tried scallops. (In retrospect, I kind of wish I’d left the insides white – but that’s the beauty of acrylic, you can always go back in and fix things).
The sage green egg: I painted little leaves with tiny white daisies at the tips, then added yellow centres.
The key is tone-on-tone details. I darkened my original base colour slightly for most of the embellishments, which gave everything a cohesive, intentional look without requiring much skill.
Step 3: The Napkin Transfer Trick
Here’s where the magic happens. If you’ve watched my other videos, you might have seen me do this technique on Christmas ornaments or other projects. It’s one of my favourites because it’s so foolproof.
First, peel off the backing layers of your napkin so you’re left with just the thin printed top layer. Then cut out whatever little images you want to use. I trimmed around each bunny, duck, and chick, leaving a bit of white around the edges (since my eggs were white anyway, it didn’t matter much).
Position your cut-out image where you want it on the egg. It’s totally fine if it overlaps the painted sections a bit, as long as the paint is completely dry. Then use a brush to apply Mod Podge over the top of the image, pressing it gently into place. It’ll look a bit gloopy and wet at first, but don’t panic. Mod Podge dries clear, and once it sets, the napkin image looks like it was painted directly onto the egg. Sometimes you need to gently nudge the napkin around to get it to stick properly, but it’s pretty forgiving.
(Optional) Step 4: Make Them Stand
The eggs I bought weren’t flat on the bottom, which made them a bit tricky to use as place cards (my original plan). To fix this, I waited until everything was completely dry, then laid out some parchment paper and used a hot glue gun to put a small dollop of glue on the bottom of each egg. I pressed each one down onto the parchment and let it dry flat. Once the glue cooled, I peeled the eggs off the parchment, and each one had its own perfect little stand.
That’s a Wrap – The Finished Product!
These turned out so much cuter than I expected, and the whole process took pretty much zero artistic skill. If you’ve been intimidated by hand-painted Easter decor before, this is such a good workaround – you get that handmade, detailed look without needing to be able to paint perfect tiny animals. I’m planning to use these on my Easter table this year, and I already know they’re going to make me smile every time I look at them.
I’d LOVE to see your creations. Tag me on Instagram: @thehappyevercrafter And if you’re looking for more Easter crafts? Check out these Easter cartons!
And finally, your dad joke…
I have a disease where I can’t stop making airport puns…
The doctor says it terminal! ✈️
Comments