Customizable Layered Easter Egg Wall Decor
Instruction
A simple and yet festive design made for displaying a variety of items for Easter. A bunny and grass as shown or even a cross and a bit of soil for a more devine theme, the choice is yours. Paint each layer a different color to give it a colorful dyed egg look. Includes keyhole cutout on the back for easy hanging.
The plans included will create a 9"x6.5" wall hanger but you can resize to your desired size. The wood used was 3mm but you can use any thickness.
While I do include an SVG file of this, keep in mind that this was designed and done with the P2 using XCS. All settings here are related to that machine and 3mm Birch plywood.
I used 3 sheets of 3mm birch (1/8") and was able to get all the pieces cut out of them. The design is set up divided into 3 pairs with each pair going on one piece of wood. Some of those pairs have other egg outlines within so that you can get all the pieces out of as few boards as possible.
You could also make this using any other thickness of wood or acrylic. The thicker the better I believe as it will make your “basket” in the egg bottom bigger as well.
I recommend a quick bond adhesive like 2p10 Thick adhesive. It dries fast but gives you some work time to adjust. I DO NOT recommend 3m 468mp as it will cause items you put in the “basket” to stick to it as well and make cleanup after the holidays a bit hard (unless you want the interior items to be permanent that is).
On the P2, use the settings above to cut out your pieces from 3 sheets of 12x12 3mm birch plywood. Again, if using a different machine and/or material, you will need to adjust your settings accordingly.
When completed, lay out your pieces. You should have the words “Happy Easter” and the half egg shaped guide for the letters. You should have a solid back piece with a keyhole cut out of the narrow end of the egg and then you should have 7 egg shapes with the center cut out, each one of varying size. The largest will match the size of the back piece while the smallest will have the roundest hole cut out of the center.
Onc you have verified you have all your pieces, turn the half egg guide for the letters over and place a few strips of masking tape on. (See photo 1) Then flip this over and put your letters into the appropriate spot. Press onto each letter so that they adhere to the tape.
Where ever you paint your products, lay out the pieces. I recommended using bright and/or pastel colors for each of the egg shapes with holes cut out of the center and then a dark color like black for the back piece and the letters.
Be sure to completely coat each piece and that the front of the letters get a nice even coat as well. If needed, apply a second coat. Keep in mind that, with the letters, you don't want to put the paint on too thick as it can cause the letters to get glued into the guide.
First step after your pieces have dried is to put on your letters. Take the half egg guide and tape it to the top of the smallest egg shape with a hole in it (see photo 1 attached to this step) Turn each letter over so that the back side is facing up. Being that this adhesive is fast drying, you will want to do this next part as quickly as possible. If you end up moving too slow, it is possible that the letter guide will become stuck to the surface due to bleed out of the glue from the letters.
After you flip the letters over, put a single drop of glue on each letter at its widest points. Take the letter and quickly insert it where it goes in the guide. After you have two letters in, remove the guide tape and lift it off. Let the glue dry on the two letters you put down and then put the guide back on. If using the same glue I used (2p10 thick adhesive) then the glue will be dry in approximately 30 seconds to a minute. You will not need to tape the guide back on as the two dried letters are now your anchor points for the guide. Repeat this process for other letters, occassionally removing the guide and letting the letters dry before moving on.
Between letters drying, you can start assembly of the egg. Take the back piece and the larges egg shape with a hole in the center. Turn that piece onto its front and apply a thin strip of glue around the backside. Flip this and lay it on the back piece while aligning the edges of the two pieces so that they match up. Let this glue dry fully before proceeding on.
From here on, its the steps for the remaining layers are exactly the same. You want to run a thin bead of glue around the opening of the hole in the egg shape that you will be glueing TO! Do not put glue on the backs of the other pieces. It makes it difficult to handle the piece and can cause issues with the finished product. (See picture 5 of the attached photos to see what I mean about where you are to place the glue). Each layer to the very last is done the exact same.
By the time you get to the final layer, your letters should be fully attached and the letter guide removed. Glue the final layer on the same as the layers before it.
Depending on the thickness of the wood you used will determine the depth of your “basket” that is created by layering these pieces. I had just under ¾ of an inch of space so it wasn't much, but it was enough for what I wanted to do. With ¼" wood, you would have over an inch to 1.5 inches and could do more than what I did.
I had a few bunny figurines and a few egg decorations that I had bought at a local craft store. Using these with easter grass, I created the final product.
Show me what you do by posting your pictures in the comments. I would love to see how you decorate it!