Spring Egg and Nest

I wanted to do a Spring project with my co-op class, so we made these little clay eggs. The kids chose colors, conditioned the clay and formed the eggs. After baking, we splattered them with acrylic paint. I read about how birds deposit the colors and spots on eggs as they are formed and it is fascinating.

At home I looked for a way to make some nests for our eggs. Because I have page scraps from cutting book initials, (here and here) I decided to try to use some of them to form nests. I KNEW I could find some uses for those cool leftovers.

Here is what I did: I cut thin strips of paper from the longest side of irregularly shaped book page scraps. I used a few smaller, wider scraps (randomly shaped) to make a base. The first nests I made were formed in rings cut from toiled paper tubes.  To make larger nests, I used old jar lids as a form. Start with a piece of plastic wrap under the nest  and on top of the lid, and brush the top of the base papers with a sloppy amount of Modge Podge.  Glue would work too. Layer several scraps randomly on top of each other. Press down to mold them together. (above)

Scrunch and squeeze your pile of strips to rough them up and bend them a bit. Then grab a handful and twist it into a rough rope like collection of strands. Pick up and twist more in as needed, then loop them into a circle and sort of wrap the ends around each other. (below)

After wrapping into a circle, there will be a lot of loose strands. Arrange this circle on top of the base you gooped up with Modge Podge, and add more Modge Podge to stick the loose stands into the sides and middle of the nest. This is a very random process, just keep fiddling and gluing, (I used a brush) until your nest looks good to you. Let dry. Fiddle and glue a little more, or perhaps trim some of the nest if it needs it to look right. I tried for a very random and relaxed process so it would look natural. Peel off the nest from the plastic or lid and fill with your eggs.