Papier Mache Easter Eggs Tutorial

Hello Springtime!  Sorry I have been AWOL for a time...just handling life.  I am getting ready for a show and wanted to share something I learned recently.  So, here goes my first tutorial, yea!

Awhile back I read a blog post (sorry, I can't remember whose or I'd give credit) that talked about her great, new favorite medium.  I have always used a different kind of decoupage medium, but was semi-unhappy with the results.  It is great stuff except it always came out shinier than I wanted (even the matte).

So when I read about Matte Gel Medium especially how dull the finish was, I decided to give it a try.

Wow!  It is wonderful.  Here is some of the label description...heavy body, translucent gel...creates a matte, non-reflective finish...opaque when wet, dries translucent & matte...permanent, non-yellowing, flexible and water resistant when dry...excellent glue for collage.   What I say is...feels light and creamy, not sticky, cleans up easily with water and it dries so matte it seems invisible.

I bought the Liquitex brand.  There are probably other brands out there, but I really like this one.

Matte Gel Medium has many other uses too...I highly recommend it.

Now for my tutorial.

I started by tearing up a brown paper sack (grocery store) and a sheet of newsprint from an old tablet I had.

Pieces should be smallish and irregular.

The best tools in the world...fingers.  Handling the egg is messy anyway so why dirty a brush.

Spread a little Matte Gel Medium on the back of a piece of paper, stick it to the egg, then spread a little more over the top of the paper.  As the gel soaks in, the paper softens and flattens out.  The brown paper actually flattened out more completely, but I like the roughness of the newsprint too.

Here I used an inexpensive plastic egg. 

Here I covered up an egg I had previously made using the 'other' shiny decoupage medium.

I sanded the finish first, but probably didn't have to since the Matte Gel Medium stuck to the plastic egg just fine.

See the white of the Matte Gel Medium while it's still wet?

A 'Before and After' picture...

...and here's another showing 2 finished eggs with 2 different papers.

See the shine on the plastic egg?  No shine on the paper eggs!

Next in the process, a paper covered egg & a completed egg.

I added some pieces of cheesecloth and lace using the same Matte Gel Medium.

It works great!

Voila! 2 finished eggs.  The smaller egg is covered in newsprint and the larger egg is covered in the brown paper sack.  I stained the cheesecloth and lace, one lighter-one darker, with walnut ink.

TIP:  I found that I had to rinse my hands about half-way through the paper process.  As the Matte Gel Medium begins to dry, the dry bits on your fingers can come off on the egg. 

I can't say enough good things about this stuff.  It's so nice when a product does what you want it to.

Anyone who has tried the Matte Gel Medium, leave a comment and share your experience.  I'd love to hear from you.