Put your papercutting and egg-blowing skills to the test with Ellen Kharade's wonderful designs

What you need...

• Eggs, hens, six
  
• Dyes, Dylon
  
• Paint, emulsion, lavender
  
• Test pots
  
• Paper, lightweight
  
• Card, deep pink
  
• Ribbons
  
• Needle, darning, knitting, sewing
  
• Adhesive, spray, re-positional
  
• Scissors, decorative-edged
  
• Stanley knife
  
• Scalpel

instructions

1. Paper-cut eggs - Wash six eggs in soapy water with a splash of sterilising fluid. Pierce each end of the eggs with a sewing needle, enlarging the holes by nipping away at the shell with nail scissors.
   
   Insert and wiggle a knitting needle to remove the yolks, then blow the contents into a bowl and discard. Soak the shells in soapy, sterilised water for a couple of hours.
   
   Mix up synthetic or natural dyes according to the manufacturer's instructions and use to dye the shells. Referring to the downloadable template, transfer and cut four tulips from blue paper using a scalpel.
   
   Apply the motifs to a shell at equal intervals, using diluted PVA. Thread a large darning needle with a double length of blue ribbon and pass it through the holes, then double knot the ends and secure with glue. Decorate the remaining shells in a similar way.