Enameling on an Egg

Petal Dust has a number of uses - we use it to dust the porcelain flowers (dip a dry brush into the powder and then brush onto the porcelain) and then steam them to absorb the colour. It gives them a beautiful silky, translucent appearance. It can also be used to colour epoxy for imitation enamel, colour Egg Repair or That White Stuff when building up textured surfaces, as well as colouring toilet paper dolls hair.  

As it is very concentrated you only need the tiniest bit for most applications in egg artistry. I usually use what clings to a wet toothpick as a measure of how much to add to whatever I am doing.  

* When doing the enameling you need to work quickly and don't try to use it once it starts to go stringy. Mix up a new lot.  

* As you can only fill a small area at a time, don't use too much epoxy each time as you will only waste it. Small and often is a better idea.  

* The best way to determine how much powder to add to achieve the same colour for each petal etc is to work with a certain number of dips of a wet toothpick.

experiment on a scrap of shell to determine how many dips you need to achieve the intensity you require.  

*As we are talking about 5-minute epoxy, every second counts.  Measure out your two equal parts of epoxy (resin and hardener) on a piece of wax paper - the waxy backing sheet from computer labels is excellent for mixing epoxy on.

Instead dip the toothpick into one part of the Epoxy to wet the end, dip into the powder and then mix into the one part of the epoxy. Repeat with the number of dips to achieve the colour you require THEN mix your two parts together. This is not as silly as it sounds as it gives you a bit longer working time.

I use a white charcoal pencil, purchased from Art Supply stores..( to mark emu eggs)....2.  Patty did answer for me.......I work with the Colores epoxies from Rio Grande....I know there is an additive to make the epoxy thicker...which really may suit your purpose.  One day, I intend to try a Cloisonne egg, such as Doris did.....I'm sure the Colores epoxies would work well.  The only draw back is the air cure time is three days.....so it would be a long process using many colors.  Colors are transparent and opaque....and great to use; there is an hour's working time before it begins to set!  From Jennifer:

.......I just viewed a Vivian Alexander egg, so for those who are interested on her finish, I have come up with instructions. There are two methods you can use. It just depends on if you want to be able to claim a "baked enamel" finish or not.

......Use Liquitex Glossies or Pebeo Porcelaine 150. Mix this paint with "interference pigment", which you will find in fine arts stores. This is a superfine powder which pearlesces any liquid it is mixed with (very fun to play with). You can also use mica. Paint in several layers, bake per instructions on jar. Follow up with liquid glass, clear enamel, or lacquer. Unbaked finish:

......Any "candied" auto paint and clear coat. I use Eastwood One Shot for airbrushing motorcycles, because it is the least toxic of all brands, but still has lead. You can bake this if you want, but it is TOXIC so I don't recommend it. Auto paints flow beautifully with a regular brush, and tend to "meld" as they're drying for a smooth finish. Also, if you make a mistake with Eastwood, you have a "window" of several hours in which you can wipe off the mistake with turpentine. DO NOT use any auto paint indoors or without a mask.

This particular egg was a turkey egg which had an allover spattering of tiny brown spots, which I wanted to retain so I didn't paint the shell. I drew the petals, leaves and butterflies on the egg. Then I glued fine gold cord on the lines of the drawings, creating little frames to enclose the colors.

I used small amounts of Varathane Diamond gloss mixed with transparent inks to make the colors and they turned out very much like glossy enamels. The flower centers are matching colored flat back crystals, as are the spots on the butterfly wings. It was as simple as that, but more work than it sounds like!