by Vicki Goranson
Choose and egg with a smooth surface, duck or goose are very good for this. Petal Porcelain is the medium used to create the depth. Hinge, cut and decorate inside of egg, leaving outside for last. Apply your choice of design to sides or where ever you want the design to show through. The back of my egg had lattice work, but that would be a wonderful place for a design to be placed. Use a 3-D design, this is where the depth is achieved. Select a flat brush for applying PP, this gives you more control on spreading the medium around smoothly. Wet the brush, taking out at least half of the tacky PP, it flows better if brush is kept slightly wet. Apply PP to all areas and on top of design, the idea being to raise the outer area to the same level as the top of the design. You've heard us refer to this as sinking the design. Sinking this one will take some time..... Dry between applying "thick coats." One caution, make sure your PP will not be so thick that it runs and pulls an area into a large lump if not allowed to be rotated while drying, so check before retiring for the night or leaving it for many hours. Been there, seen it, done it.... When uneven areas appear,(this is where you start the habit of stroking it), it's time to start sanding the uneven areas. Fine, dry sand paper should be used. I would suggest not putting your braid around any openings before applying PP. I had a hard time bringing the PP evenly up to the braid. Just keep an eye on your edges and that they remain rounded and even. Apply the braid when finished and do not forget to check that the door opens smoothly also. When your design has "sunk" into the PP, you should have only the final coat to go. Do NOT put a sealer over the PP. You can achieve different depths to your egg by applying more layers of PP. Sand the last layer on the egg, that is where the satiny feel and look comes from. |