Hatch a plan for your own Easter egg tree, perfect for a table centerpiece

Easter decorating seems to come at just the right time, when the seasons are changing and the bright, cheery colors of spring emerge. The vibrant palettes in children's egg-decorating kits have a vibrant rainbow of hues, much like the irises, tulips, daffodils and other spring flowers popping up right now.

Most of the edible, dyed and prized eggs are destined to be hidden in bushes and grasses on Easter, but it’s just as fun to hand-make (or buy) some festive eggs to hang from a tree to mark the occasion. You can easily create your own color scheme or decor theme, too.

Egg trees are an especially good way to display unique, lightweight eggs that you’ve accumulated over the years, but they also create a centerpiece for your serving tables on Easter. You can buy a ready-made tree that will allow you to hang the eggs or you can make your own using found branches in nature.

The branch hunt

Keep your eye out for fallen branches or even plants that didn’t make it through winter. I had a "Pride of Houston" Yaupon holly shrub with multiple topiary balls that lost a few of its large branches in a freeze. Sad about the loss, I cut off the big, leafless branches and stuck them in the garden shed until I could muster up the strength to officially dispose of them.

Then, it hit me. There had to be something I could salvage from them, right? A branch could become something sculptural or some sort of centerpiece — maybe even an Easter egg tree. With its demise, the wood had become a weathered, white color. Perfect.

The best-size branch for this project is one that is about 36 inches tall or a little higher and that has a nice shape, with multiple branches, if possible. The branch also needs to be clean and well balanced.

If you don’t have access to something like this, consider looking for faux branches. A grouping of faux dogwood branches at a craft store might be strong enough to suspend lightweight eggs. To display faux branches, select a heavy cylindrical vase, urn or planter that is tall and narrow at the top, instead of wide. This will help the branches stay upright and supported.

A solid trunk

For the found tree branch, find a heavy urn or planter that can support the weight of the branch. I like to use concrete urns. You want the urn or box to be at least 10-12 inches high, so the branch won’t topple over too easily.

Trim off any unwanted greenery or stray twigs that you don’t find pleasing on your egg tree.

You can Plaster of Paris, cement or even packed-down crushed granite to hold the branch in place in its urn or box. Keep in mind how heavy the branch is and if it will be affected by the wind in the place you plan to use it. If you plan to use it outdoors, cement will make your tree rock solid but also heavier. Plaster of Paris is easy to use but it’s pretty lightweight. I used a wet crushed granite in my tree project.

Place your limb in the urn and fill with desired material. Hold the tree in place, so it remains upright until the material is set or in place.

You can paint the bark, add a fine, iridescent shimmer or even add a small, battery-operated strand of fairy lights. Hanging votive candles will give it some illumination, especially if you plan to use it in the evening hours.

Collecting the eggs

You'll want to hunt down or make some unique eggs for this tree centerpiece. Look around your home for eggs from Easters past. Foam, plastic or hand-blown eggs are lightweight and easy to work with.

You might need to supplement your egg stash with some found at the local craft store.

Shop for eggs that have vintage, artful images on them. These are already decorated and ready to go. It’s nice to have a mix of new and old on the tree.

Papier-mache eggs come by the dozen and are very easy to decorate. You can use decoupage, paint, fine glitter, fabric or even small stickers for decorating. Use a decoupage glue like Mod Podge if you’d like to cover them with favorite fortune cookie papers or old magazine images. You can also roll them in confetti to match your table's color scheme.

Make a few designs of your own using the petals of dried roses, old textiles and fabric trims. Hot glue everything on your eggs.

Sunny side up on a string

Twine, string, thin craft wire, fishing line or thin ribbons can be used to hang the Easter eggs. I used an inexpensive, silvery-gray craft string that sort of disappears into the background and is easy to tie off.

Cut the string in long lengths for each egg. Purchased eggs may already have a ribbon to tie onto, but if not, you can drill a hole at the top of the egg (depending on the material). Insert an end of the string and drop some hot glue on that drilled spot. Seal the glued string with a craft bead, pearl, silk leaves or some dried flowers. Hold item on the hot-glue drop until the glue sets.

When you are ready to put the eggs on your tree, hang them at varying lengths so that each egg has some room to show off. Cut off any excess string and discard.

Finishing touches

The give the tree a flowering look, hot-glue silk flower buds to branches. Make your branch a full-out cherry or peach blossom tree if you want. Or, you can keep a woodsy look with a few neutral berries and stick to a bare limb like I did.

Add some sparkle to twig areas by inserting some neutral berry sprays that you can find at a craft store’s floral department. Use thin metal craft wire to fasten them to the branch. Add some glittery acorns, crystal garland or seasonal ribbon if you’d like to make your tree more whimsical.

To make the centerpiece, fill baskets with more decorative eggs or place birdhouses and candles around the tree base. Just add desserts and sweet tea to the table and your Easter setting will be complete.

This story was originally published March 23, 2018 at 9:17 AM with the headline "Hatch a plan for your own Easter egg tree, perfect for a table centerpiece."