TPD: Technique - Eggshell Mosaic

I have been playing with this technique for a couple of years now and want to share it with you. It is fun, forgiving, addictive, and the results are amazing!.

For this swap you will be making one eggshell mosaic piece for each of two partners (therefore two shapes in total). Theme and color scheme are sender's choice. Final product (brooch, magnet, pendent, embellishment) is sender's choice. If you are inspired from something on your partner's profile that is icing on the cake.

This technique takes several steps/days to complete, so please start on it early so that you do not end up crunched for time.

Step 1: Prepare your eggshells. The first time I did this I used hard-boiled shells, but since then I have discovered that uncooked eggshells work too and it is much easier! So bake some cookies or have an omelette -- and save those eggshells!

You want to try to keep the pieces of eggshell as large as possible. And it is essential to remove the eggshell from the membrane. I find this easy to do while the eggs are fresh and "wet". The shell easily peels off of the membrane. I usually hold the shell under a small trickle of running water. You can rub your finger on the inside of the shell and any remaining residue will ball right up. Or start at the edge and break the shell carefully -- that starts the membrane to peel away in a big sheet. Be sure there is no membrane on your eggshells! The membrane will rot and smell and you must remove it completely.

Step 2: Let your eggshell pieces dry for a day or two. They should be totally non-sticky and totally without odor. When gently shaken they should "clink" when the hit each other. If there is any membrane remaining on the shells your project will not be successful.

Step 3: Cut out your base shape. I would suggest making something larger than 1 x 1" and maybe smaller than 4 x 4". The size will probably be determined by final use (a 4" magnet is fine, a 4" brooch is a bit large). Also, the smaller the piece the harder it is to mosaic and color so if you are new to this technique you might go toward a larger piece.

For this swap our base will be made of paper. Use grunge board, chipboard, or several layers of heavy cardstock. You want a firm base so that it does not bend during production. You also need something with a stiff edge when you clean your piece.

Step 4: Paint your base with 1-2 coats of acrylic paint. I usually use black but any color is fine. Think about your final product. If you are making embellishments for scrapbooking or cardmaking the backs do not have to be finished. For a brooch, pendant, or magnet please paint the back. If you are making a pendant be sure to drill a hole for a jump ring.

Step 5: Spread out your eggshell pieces on your work surface. I do mine curved side up. It is helpful to have some tweezers, Xacto knife, or a sticky tipped tool to help manipulate your small pieces of shell. Use a basic white glue to attach the shell pieces to your paper base. Coat a small section at a time so the glue stays wet while you work. You want an even coating of glue, but not enough to goop up through the shells when you flatten them down.

Take a piece of eggshell and place it on top of your paper. I take the end of a paintbrush and break the shell so that it lies flat to the surface. Small cracks between the eggshells are nice -- they allow your base color to show. This is when you can manipulate the shell with the tip of an Xacto knife. The larger the piece of original shell the less work you have to do. You can fill in tiny spaces between shell additions with tiny scraps (this is where tweezers or a sticky tip tool help). It is a mosaic so you won’t be covering every bit of the background. You can let the pieces of eggshell hang off the edge of your card. It is easy to trim flush once the card has dried. Let dry at least overnight.

Step 6: Once the piece is completely dry, clean the edges. I usually just take my fingers and break the shell flush with the edges. You can file with a metal emery board. Complex shapes take a bit more effort and skill to clean. You want all the shell flush with the edge of your design.

Step 7: Now comes the fun part. Color your eggshells with drops of alcohol ink. Start slowly and let the colors bleed and blend. You can manipulate the colors slightly with your fingers, a paintbursh, or a Q-tip. You can change one color by dropping another color on top of it. This is where a black base works well -- any alcohol ink that drips over the edge doesn't show. If your base is a lighter color it does show and then you have to decide whether to paint the edges again. Once you have the colors the way you want them let the pieces dry several hours.

Step 8: Seal your pieces. I use 3-4 coats of glossy Modge Podge. Spray sealant will also work. Just be sure to give it plenty of dry time between layers.

When I did these leaves I decided some of them were too dark. I had already put two coats of Modge Podge on them. So I took some sand paper and sanded back down to expose some raw eggshell. I then colored them again. The sanded areas were much lighter. I liked this effect. With the autumn leaf colors it looks just like tortoise shell.

So that is the technique. It is not particularly hard, but it is a bit time-consuming. I just did a step every day or two while I was in my studio working on other projects. I am allowing a long lead-time and production time for this swap but please be sure that you start early!

Possible Theme shapes: Hearts, flowers, butterflies, leaves, snowflakes, stars, keys, animals, Halloween or Christmas shapes

Variations: Background colors, whether sanded or not, color palettes chosen.

I have used eggshell mosaic on several projects. My original swap tutorial is here. I used to use acrylic paints but I like this new method with alcohol inks better.

This is a great technique for a base for ATCs. Here are some examples: Seaturtle Spring

And here is a bookmark made using this technique: Tentacles

Here are some hearts I did for pendants. I still have to add the jumprings and ribbon. Hearts

Here are some snowflakes I just finished. I used a lavender base coat on these (as opposed to black paint) and it gives them a much lighter look. I also added a touch of microglitter between the first couple layers of sealant. Snowflakes flake detail

Swap Requirements:

1 eggshell mosaic piece for each of 2 partners (2 pieces total).

Theme is Sender's Choice

Minimum rating: 4.95

Have fun and feel free to PM me with any questions..