How to Make Blown Egg Ornaments

If you’re like us and have a flock of silly feathered friends living in your backyard, this holiday time craft idea is perfect for you! Making homemade blown egg ornaments is a fun and special way to commemorate your chickens. We have made an egg ornament with every one of our girls’ eggs, including our current flock and those no longer with us. Unwrapping and admiring their beautiful colored eggs each year always brings a smile to my face. Even if you don’t have chickens of your own, you can (and totally should!) make blown egg ornaments from local or store-bought eggs too. Either way, egg ornaments add an adorable and unique homestead flair to your holiday decor. 
 

Follow along to learn how to make blown egg ornaments. This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to ‘blow out’ a raw egg to empty its contents. Then we’ll go over how to string it up to hang, and several ideas on how to customize the ornament with a little decorative flair. The process is quite easy, but does require a gentle touch and a sharp object – so be ready to give the kiddos a helping hand!

Supplies Needed to Make Blown Egg Ornaments

• Egg(s)
• Tape – such as packing tape, masking tape, or scotch tape
• Thumbtack, safety pin, and/or a skinny nail
• Twine, hemp, ribbons, or other string to both hang and decorate the egg
• Slender but stiff wire
• Optional: mini jingle bells, charms, gems, beads, buttons, and other cute adornments. I usually find these goodies at our local Michael’s craft store. Or, in the depths of my home craft supply stash and jewelry box. Incorporating the chicken’s feathers would be super adorable too!
• Optional: super glue 
  

Step 1: Make Holes in the Egg

• I like to work over a kitchen towel as I make blown egg ornaments. It provides a soft cushion, and will catch any accidental messes.
  
  
• First, wash and dry your egg of choice (or several). If you know your backyard chicken eggs well, choose ones with healthy firm shells. It isn’t easy to make blown egg ornaments with thin-shelled eggs… trust me! 
  
  
• Apply a layer of tape over each end of the egg. You can use clear tape or masking tape, but avoid super-sticky duct tape. The tape helps to prevent the egg from cracking as you poke holes in each end.
  
  
• Gently press a thumbtack into one end of the egg. I find it helps to twist the tack back and forth a bit (almost like a screw) to make a tiny indent in the surface of the eggshell and tape first, and then apply gentle pressure to push it in.
  
  
• Repeat the process on the opposite end of the egg.
  
  
• Now, gently widen each hole to a few millimeters to 1/8″ (fellow gardeners: about the size of a beet or Swiss chard seed). If the holes are too tiny, it’s nearly impossible to blow the inside contents of the egg out, and also more difficult to get string through. I usually keep the bottom hole (the one I will blow from) slightly smaller than the top hole (the end the egg contents will come out of).  Either work the thumbtack around inside the hole, or insert something slightly larger – such as a nail. Sometimes I find the need to gently chip away at the edges of the hole to make it wider. It’s okay if the hole is a little ragged! We’re going to cover it up anyways.
  
   
• Other ways to make a hole in an eggshell include using a small drill bit, a nail, or safety pin.

Step 2: Blow Out the Egg

• Before you blow out the egg, it’s best to break up the egg yolk inside. Insert a wire, toothpick, open paperclip, or other long skinny object into one of the holes and poke around a bit. Use a clean poking device if you intend to keep the egg to consume!
  
  
• Rinse the egg off again if the holes have become gooey by this point.
  
  
• Now, it’s time to blow! Poise the egg over a bowl or the sink, put your mouth over the smaller hole on the egg (make a seal), and blow air into the egg. If you’re not keen on putting your mouth right on it, you can cut a short piece of straw to put between your mouth and the egg. I don’t mind putting my mouth on it (and we don’t use plastic straws) so I just make sure to rinse my lips and mouth afterward.
  
  
• As you blow, egg material should come out the bottom hole. I’ve gotta admit: it’s strangely satisfying. It will also take a good amount of strong breath, so don’t make yourself dizzy! Take breaks and deep breaths as needed. If you’re blowing and the egg matter isn’t coming out, go back and gently widen one hole if needed. Blowing too hard without any release could cause the egg to break.
  
  
• After the egg contents are emptied from the shell, run warm water into the hole, swish it around to rinse out the inside, and blow out the water. Repeat a few times. Now you’re left with a nice clean shell, ready to be turned into a proper blown egg ornament!
  
  
• If the tape over the ends is still intact, you could leave it there to protect the holes for the next step. Mine usually comes loose by now so I gently remove it.

Step 3: Insert String (and/or Wire)

• Next we need to get the egg strung up and ready to hang! There are many clever ways to hang a blown egg ornament, so feel free to get creative here. I’ll show you how I do it with string, but you can use ribbon, fishing line, or wire alone. You could even loop a button to the bottom to hold it in place instead of tying a knot.
  
  
• Using my string of choice, I use tape to attach the end of the string to the end of a piece of firm straight wire. The wire helps to guide the string through one hole and out the other side of the eggshell. It is key to use only a small bit of tape and wrap it very tightly in order to keep everything skinny enough to fit through the holes.
  
  
• Gently insert the string and wire through the smaller hole, and guide it through the egg to exit out the larger hole.
  
  
• At this point, I typically tie a double or triple knot in the string that is sticking out the bottom side of the egg, leaving a few inches of string at the bottom to attach charms to (or, snip off the excess later).
  
  
• Then I pull the string up from the top end of the egg, so the bottom knot is flush against the bottom hole, and apply a bit of superglue around the knot and hole. This step is optional, but it helps prevent the egg from cracking further and keeps the knot from coming undone over time.
  
  
•  Finally, create a knot and loop at the top of the egg with the remaining string. I add a bit of glue to that hole and knot as well. Sometimes I tie an additional decorative ribbon into a bow around the top knot.  

Step 4: Adorn & Hang

Now, decorate your blown egg ornament however you see fit! Add mini jingle bells, charms, crystals, ribbons, or other crafty items to give it some pizazz. You could even repurpose old children’s or costume jewelry, or glue things right to the egg itself if you wish. Have fun and get creative!

If the string or twine loop isn’t long enough as-is, add an ornament hook to hang it on your holiday tree. At the end of the season, we simply wrap our precious blown egg ornaments in tissue paper or bubble wrap, and tuck them into a small dedicated box that we store with our other ornaments. 

And that is how you make blown egg ornaments.

Aren’t they absolutely adorable? We’ve had a few very special chickens in the past, and I cherish these beautiful keepsakes. I hope you enjoy creating your own blown egg ornaments too! Please let me know if you have any questions. Also, don’t be too hard on your self if you accidentally break an egg on your first try. I definitely did!

I would love to see your egg ornaments, so be sure to tag me on Instagram (@deannacat3) if you share them there. Finally, please spread the love by sharing or pinning this article. We appreciate you tuning in today. Have fun, and happy holidays!

Other crafty projects to try:

• DIY Rice Heating Pad (or Cold Pack)
• How to Make a DIY Beeswax Fall Leaf Garland
• 17 Wonderful Winter Garden Activities (Projects) To Do Indoors
• How to Make Beeswax Food Wraps
• DIY Natural Lip Balm Recipe
• Homemade Fruit and Veggie Stamped Kitchen Towels

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Handmade Blown Egg Ornaments

Follow this step-by-step tutorial to make blown egg ornaments. This is a fun holiday craft project, and a super special way to keep eggs from your favorite chickens. Or, use local eggs and add little homestead flair to your holiday decor!

Craft Time45 minutes mins

Keyword: blown egg, blown egg ornament, egg ornmanent

Equipment

• Tape – such as packing tape, masking tape, or scotch tape
• Thumbtack, safety pin and/or small nail
• String, twine, or ribbon
• Slender but stiff wire
• Optional: mini jingle bells, charms, gems, beads, buttons, and other cute adornments
• Optional: super glue

Ingredients

• Egg(s)

Instructions

• Cover each end of a clean egg with tape.
• Gently twist and press a thumbtack (or similar) into each end of the egg through the tape, creating a two small holes. Gently widen each hole to several millimeters, up to 1/8".
• Working over a sink or bowl, place your mouth or a straw over the smaller hole, create a seal, and blow out the egg contents.
• Rinse the egg out with warm water, and "blow out" the extra water too.
• Use wire to guide a string through the egg, and tie a knot at each end – snug against the egg. Create a loop in the string on top.
• Optional: use superglue to seal around the holes in the egg (to prevent further cracking) and to permanently secure the knots.
• Decorate the egg as you wish, adding charms, gems, buttons, feathers, mini jingle bells, and more!