Easter craft idea 3: With strings attached

Here's an idea to spruce up a plain vase for your Easter entertaining.

Quail's eggs symbolise the new life of spring, and a string of painted eggs looks perfect with a simple bunch of flowers.

This decoration only costs a few pounds and is an ideal gift. We boiled the eggs first, but for a longer-lasting display, you could blow them (see above).

Be warned: boiled eggs will become a little smelly if you keep them in a warm room for more than a few weeks.

See also:

  • Easter idea 1: home made nest
  • Easter idea 2: hanging wreath

    • You will need

    • 6 quail's eggs (£2.29 for 12, www.ocado.com or from good grocers)
    • Paint - we used sample pots of emulsion from Farrow & Ball (£2.99 per 100ml pot, 01202 876 141, www.farrowball.com), although any leftover emulsion or craft paint will do the trick
    • Garden twine
    • Darning needle
    • Vase
    • Fresh flowers
    1. Boil the eggs for 10 minutes. When they have cooled, paint them in various colours. 2. Cut six 15cm lengths
    of twine and remove strands so that they're fine enough to thread the needle. Draw a length of string through each egg, then make a knot at the end so the eggs don't slide off.    		 3. Tie the eggs to a length of twine, then tie it around the neck of your vase, making sure you're happy with the spacing.

    Reproduced from the March 07 issue of Gardeners' World magazine. August 07 issue on sale now. Subscribe now and save 30 per cent.