Halloween- Creature Nest & Eggs

Let's create a colourful and creepy array of monster eggs!

Things you will need-

• Eggs (if you are vegan you can buy some fake eggs to use instead of real ones)
• A small skewer or skewer like object
• Acrylic paint
• Paintbrush
• Masking tape (optional)
• Twigs
• Hay or straw
• Yarn

We'll start with the eggs. Hold the egg carefully and use the skewer to puncture a small hole in the bottom of the egg. I find lots of small taps create a hole without breaking the egg whereas one big push often cracks the egg open. Once you've opened your hole use the skewer to gently pull the insides of the egg out through the hole. Be patient and go slowly as this is a delicate process.

Once the eggs contents are completely removed give it a quick rinse inside and out to remove any remaining goop and leave it to dry. If you don't like having a hole in the bottom of your egg you can cover it over with masking tape as shown below.

Next you can paint the eggs whatever colour you like. I decided to have one red egg that looked like it came from a fiery creature and one green egg that looks like it came from a swamp monster. Applying several thin layers of paint works better than one thick layer. You can also stipple on the paint to create different effects.

Once the base colour is fully dry you can add speckles to your egg with a different coloured paint by flicking the paint brush with your finger or by using an old toothbrush.

Now we need to make the nest. This part is arguably more fiddly than hollowing out the eggs. First take some of your twigs and tie them together with a length of yarn to create a basic nest shape, that is to say some sort of oval or circular form. 

It will be easier to create a nest with fresh twigs rather than old ones as fresh wood will have a lot more give in it and be flexible to weave with whereas old wood will have dried out and will be brittle and snap if bent too far. Don't worry if you do have old wood though, you can still weave with it but you will need more yarn to hold everything in place as you work. 

Keep building up and securing the twigs until have have a nice framework to start covering with hay or straw. (If you don't have a pet shop nearby that sells hay or straw you can create your own by cutting some long grass and leaving it in a warm place such as an airing cupboard to dry out for a few days.) Be patient and keep weaving your hay/straw through and around the twigs until you have a nest you are happy with. 

As my eggs are from different creatures I only want small nests for each of them but if you would rather have a group of eggs from the same monster you will need to create larger nests. 

If you want to add some variation to your nests you could try adding in some fresh grass for a green coloured nest or various types of leaves, flowers or seed pods.