http://openhouseminiatures.wordpress.com/2013/03/30/making-miniature-papier-mache-eggs/

1. Miniature Papier-Mâché Easter Eggs

2. 12th scale or not 12th scale ?
Pressed cardboard
eggs come in a variety
of sizes.
The ones that I am
making in this slideshow
would be approximately
6 to 7 inches long in
real life.

3. To make them I used For the papier-mâché egg
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a sharp knife
a sharp pair of scissors
a blunt knife
a metal ruler
Evo-stick wood glue, and a small paint brush
my Canon pixma home printer
a professional print service
80 gsm HP plotter paper
very fine tissue paper
A small piece of 2-ply paper handkerchief
A strip of 200gsm water-colour paper
Ronseal satin finish varnish
Letraset / pantone pens
For the egg mold / mould and base
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Full details are given in the blog, as I am unable
to demonstrate 2 part mould making and resin
casting here.

4. First I looked at some eggs Cardboard eggs are not
egg shaped…
This is because they
are boxes that are
pretending to be eggs.

5. Inside there is a band This has two main purposes.
It makes the egg stronger, so
that it keeps its shape better.
It also acts like the interior lip
on any lidded box – when it is
a snug fit, it keeps the two
halves together.
(It does allow you to you heap more goodies inside too.)

6. I came to the conclusion that if I wanted to make a
miniature version of these eggs I would need -
Two identical (hard) half egg shapes.
Two bases (that were slightly flexible)
for the egg shape to sit in.
These had to be completely non-stick.

7. Here is one of my original eggs.
It is made from Milliput,
which, when it is fully cured,
is very hard and has a very
smooth finish.
It is embedded in plasticine
because I needed to make a
silicone mould using it.
Once I had a mould I could
cast more (exactly identical)
eggs.
Note – the shape

8. Ideally There would now be a full explanation of what is
involved in making a simple 2 part silicone
mould and then using it to cast a resin egg.
However, I do all my mould making and casting
outdoors and it is snowing at the moment.
Also, I can’t pause in the middle of pouring
silicone or resin in order to take photographs.

9. So On the blog I have put some links to videos on YouTube
that show the processes that I follow when I make a mould
and cast in resin.

10. My plan was to have hard resin eggs, embedded in firm,
but still flexible, silicone bases

11. When the weather improves I am going to make better (poured silicone)
bases for my eggs.
For now, I will have to use the best
substitute I have, which is - silicone putty.

12. I used Hiflex because •
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PVA glue will not stick to it
It is washable
It is fairly hard, but still slightly
flexible when it is cured
It cures FAST
It is odourless
I don’t have to wear gloves to handle
it
There are a variety of 2 part, silicone
putties available – there are advantages
and disadvantages to all of them.

13. I expect there is a video on YouTube about how to use silicone putty -
My top tips are –
1.
Keep it in a cool place, so that it
starts out cold.
2.
On a hot day, put your hands in
cold water before using it
3.
After you have measured out
two equal amounts of the yellow
and blue putty, make long
sausages and then twirl them
together – this makes kneading
them together into a smooth
blend much easier

14. After I had blended the putty
I pressed it firmly down
over the egg and
squeezed it round and
round, hoping to get a
nice tight fit –
Poured silicone would
be my first choice every
time for a really good,
close fitting mould !

15. When I use Hiflex This frequently
happens.
I couldn’t make a clean
cast from this.
I don’t even want to use
it as a base for my resin
eggs.

16. Could I try to repair the edge - ?
In theory, Hiflex will stick to
itself.
So far, however, I have
never managed to repair a
mould where there is only a
very shallow area to fill.
The infill has always peeled
away.

17. One very useful thing About Hiflex, is that I
can cut into it and carve
it easily…

18. So that When I do have a base
that I like, I can make
sure that it sits flat on
my work surface.

19. Finally –
I had 8 hard resin eggs and 8 non-stick bases

20. The egg and the base need to fit together exactly and tightly.
You will soon see why.

21. Now the moulds are ready,
I can make the eggs…
…but first an explanation…

22. The tissue paper I am about to use comes in large sheets.
It is so fine that it is almost see through.
It is not “a tissue”, or paper handkerchief.

23. The eggs are made by sticking layers of paper together The first layer is the
decorative interior paper.
I printed this at home on fine
tissue paper.
The paper has to be
completely flat and
completely dry before I put it
through my printer.
I put a tiny amount of
glue all round the edge
of a piece of photocopy
paper and then gently
lay the tissue paper on
top.
It has to be crease free.
I trim the edges when it
is dry.

24. I cut out a square of printed tissue and applied Evo-stick
glue to it with a small brush.
Then I laid it, glue side down, on top of the egg -
When I do this I
hold one corner of
the paper and
brush the glue on
lightly and quickly.
I don’t know why
the ink doesn’t run,
but it doesn’t.

25. Then I very, very gently
smoothed the paper
down with my fingers
and shaped it to fit
round the egg.
I use my fingers.
There is no special tool,
or trick.
I can feel what I am
doing with my fingers
and so I use them.
If the egg
is not a
tight fit in
the base,
it moves
about and
this can
get very
messy,
very
quickly

26. I let the first layer dry for at least 2 hours, then I applied Evo-stick glue
to the tissue paper on
the mould (with a small
brush) and began to
build up more layers of
plain tissue paper.
I find it easier to smooth the dry
tissue down onto the wet glue.

27. The paper I am using is very thin Even after applying
three layers of tissue,
the design on the first
layer is still visible.

28. I could go on simply building up layers of tissue paper, but I am not that patient.
I am aiming for a smooth
finish, but I also want a
strong egg, that will hold its
shape and not warp.
So, the fourth layer is made
from –
2-ply paper handkerchief.
This a close-up of
a piece of Kleenex
man-size paper
handkerchief.
It soaks up glue
beautifully and will
make a very tough
inner layer.

29. On top of the paper handkerchief go Four more layers of fine
tissue paper -

30. Then I have to let the glue dry and set
Usually for a minimum of 12 hours –
But 24 hours is better…

31. Evo-stick glue is essentially a
water soluble plastic It doesn’t just dry, it also
“cures” and the bond gets
stronger with time.
It is supposed to “dry clear
in 24 hours” - at least that is
what is written on the back
of the bottle.
I wait as long as I can for it
to look “dry” and “clear”.
This glue is
not
waterproof

32. When the glue was dry, I very carefully eased the mould
away from the eggs, and then the paper from the eggs.
I couldn’t do this easily
with a rigid mould.

33. Using very sharp scissors,
I trimmed the excess paper away.
Cutting through layers of paper,
will make scissors blunt in no
time, but I find it gives me a better
result that using a knife.

34. At this point, the eggs are still flexible,
so I put them back on the mould immediately.

35. When I had trimmed all the
eggs, I checked that
they fitted together, and
felt the edges carefully
for any rough or uneven
parts.
I think that this is finally
beginning to look like a
like a cardboard egg.

36. Then I was ready to decorate the eggs
I hoped that the HP plotter paper, which is thinner than the papers that
I usually use, might give me a good image to work with and so I asked
at the local print shop if they would be willing to print onto my (carefully
cut to A4 size) paper with their printer.
It turned out that they had their own supply - on a roll…

37. Is the ink going to run?
Is the paper going to disintegrate?
I put glue on the egg shape
(which was still on the
mould) and glue on the back
of the print.

38. Using my fingers, I began to press the print
very carefully over the egg.

39. Very slowly, and carefully, I pressed the paper down,
smoothing out the creases, cuts and folds so that they
disappeared as much as possible.

40. Did the slightly thinner plotter paper make a difference?
I think it did.
This is an
extremely
unflattering
photograph,
but look at
how much
less visible
the cuts are
when finer
paper is
used.
I can’t do this
with a
homemade
print.
The ink runs.

41. When the image was as smooth as I could
make it, I sealed the top surface with a slightly
diluted coat of glue.
This layer of paper, then had to dry…

42. While it was drying I made the trim for the
edge of the egg.
I wanted thin,
colour-fast, red paper,
so I had to make it
myself –
Using plotter paper and
colour-fast pens.

43. “Colour-fast” is a relative term
The ink from these pens
is “colour-fast” when it is
thoroughly dry…
But even then, if you dip
the paper in water the
ink still runs…
Especially the red…

44. I used two colours because Neither colour looked
quite right on their own.
The ink went straight
through the thin paper
and so I inked one side
of the paper in one
colour and the other
side of the paper in the
other colour.

45. This has to dry completely -

46. The next morning I trimmed the excess
paper from the eggs
and checked that the
two halves matched.
The eggs are a great
deal less flexible now.

47. Then I prepared strips of edging paper
I scored a fold line, in
the coloured stripe, with
a blunt knife
Folded along the score
line
Unfolded the paper
Cut a straight edge on
one side of the crease
Cut a “fringe” on the
other side of the
crease, so that I could
manipulate the paper
more easily.

48. Then I glued the strip to the egg

49. Then I trimmed the “fringe”, applied a small amount of glue
to the inside of the egg, and very carefully folded the
“fringe” over and pressed it in to place

50. I then
put the eggs back on the mould
- they are now a very tight fit gave them a thin coat of satin
varnish and left them
to dry
CHEAT ALERT
…
I would usually varnish the
eggs at this point.
Once I do this they become
slightly shiny and
impossible to photograph.

51. The following day –
I took the eggs off the moulds and checked the edges.

52. Nearly there I only have to make the
inner band and fix it in
place.
I cut a strip of 200 gsm
watercolour paper and ran
my fingers over it, so that it
curled.
I had to be very gentle
because the layers split
apart if I press too hard.
I used
watercolour
paper
because
it has a
slightly
grainy
texture,
which
helps
the two
halves
of the
egg stay
together
.

53. Then I cut a piece off the
gently curling strip,
which was about the
right size to fit in the
egg.
Then I put a little bit of
glue on the inside of the
egg and inserted the
strip.

54. Am I making this look easy?
It isn’t.
At least I don’t find it at
all easy.
I unplug the phone
when I am doing this
part.

55. Now all they have to do is dry

56. When these eggs are finished (varnished) they are not only small,
they also have
(particularly on the outside)
curved, reflective surfaces.
I had to cheat…
The eggs that I made
in this slideshow
have not been varnished
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