How to Decoupage Eggs with Napkins: Chic & Easy Easter DIY
Inside: Transform ordinary craft eggs into beautiful decoupage eggs with a chic chinoiserie look using this easy Easter egg decoupage tutorial!
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Do you want to decorate for Easter with something a little more elevated than the usual pastels and plastic grass? The beautiful patterns from paper napkins can transform inexpensive white craft store eggs into elegant spring home decor that fits right in with your decorating style!
I made decoupage eggs to bring in a touch of blue to match my blue and green spring color scheme. These blue and white chinoiserie beauties were the perfect marriage of Easter decor and my love of this classic pattern. 💙🤍
It’s an easy craft project that anyone can do, and doesn’t cost much more than a little time. I already had the Mod Podge and the napkins leftover from my chinoiserie pumpkin DIY, so my only expense were some faux eggs.
What You’ll Need to Make Decoupaged Easter Eggs.
- White eggs (plastic craft eggs, foam eggs, or wooden eggs work best (no painstaking blowing out of delicate real eggs in this tutorial)
- Decorative napkins or guest paper hand towels with a white background (I only used four for 24 eggs)
- Mod Podge (I used the matte finish)
- Small paint brush or small foam brush
- Scissors
- Optional: a wood skewer (helpful for holding a foam egg while it’s wet) and wax paper for drying
For natural color wood eggs, you’ll need to paint them white first. I used white chalk paint on these wooden floral decoupage eggs I made a few years ago:
Step-by-Step Instructions to Decoupage Eggs.
1. Prep the Napkins.
Most decorative napkins have two or three layers. You’ll only need the printed top layer, so carefully separate it from the backing.
SH&H Tip: Here’s a trick to tease the layers apart: Tear or cut off a corner. Holding the edges of the cut in each hand, pull the napkin in and out quickly a few times. You should see the layers start to separate.
2. Cut Out the Designs.
Use a pair of sharp scissors to cut out individual patterns from the napkin (a lot of tutorials tell you to tear them out, but I find cutting much easier to control).
Depending on the design of your napkin, some of the intact designs may be too large for the egg, so you’ll have to cut a portion out. You’ll also want to cut some small pieces that will fit nicely in between larger designs.
I had two different styles of blue and white napkins. These napkins with flowers, birds and peacocks, and hints of light blue:
And this more Jacobean-look floral blue napkin.
With these patterns, I ended up trimming a lot of these designs into smaller pieces once I figured out the best sizes to work with.
3. Apply Mod Podge to the Egg.
First, protect your work surface with something that you don’t mind getting glue on. Using a small paintbrush, apply a thin layer of Mod Podge to a small section of the egg (a little goes a long way).
Painting a small area at a time leaves a dry place to hold the egg instead of having the entire egg be wet and sticky. This is especially important when you’re handling parts that already have pieces of the napkins because your fingers can lift wet patterns back off.
SH&H Tip: If you’re working with foam eggs, insert a wood skewer in the bottom of the egg to make it easy to hold. You can cover the small hole with a napkin piece at the end.
4. Place the Napkin Designs on the Egg.
Gently place a cut piece of napkin design onto the wet Mod Podge. Smooth it out a little bit with your fingers or the brush. There will still be some wrinkles—it won’t ever be perfectly smooth.
5. Seal with More Mod Podge.
Once the napkin piece is in place, carefully apply another light coat of Mod Podge on top to seal it.
6. Repeat on Same Half of the Egg and Let Dry.
Add another design or designs only on the side facing you that has the first piece of napkin, following the same steps. When you’ve finished that part of the egg, lay it down (on wax paper if you have it) wet side up to let that glue dry, moving onto the next egg.
7. Repeat in Sections on the Remainder.
After the first part dries on all of your eggs, repeat until you have the amount of designs on each egg that you want, letting them dry in sections as needed. You don’t have to cover the entire surface of the egg and some white space is fine!
These decoupage chinoiserie Easter eggs were a fun project and a great way to bring a little sophistication into my spring decor.
This spring I placed my new blue and white eggs on an Easter egg tray on the kitchen counter, but they would also look lovely in a bowl with some green moss or natural undyed shredded paper on an end table or coffee table. So many options for next time, because the timeless chinoiserie pattern makes them decorative elements that I can use year after year!
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