Hanging Plaster Floral Eggs

MATERIALS:- Plaster wrap (you can find it in craft stores)
- Balloon
- Paper with decorative images (try gift wrap or cards)
- Poster board (optional)
- Glue (spray adhesive is best)
- Ribbon
- Pan of water
- Paint (optional)

STEPS:

Blow up your balloon to the desired size.  I actually made a small, medium and large.  Cut the dry plaster wrap sheets into medium size squares.  Dip into pan of water and drape over the balloon - just like doing paper mâché. Massage the sheet a bit with your fingers and more of the plaster will be released and it will cover the netting more, giving it a smooth plaster appearance.  Add a second sheet, over lapping the first and smooth out the edges where they meet.  Keep dipping and layering the plaster sheets until the entire balloon is covered.  Repeat for a second and then third layer.  Let the whole thing dry - which may take some time.Once it's dry (or mostly dry), use a utility knife to cut a hole into the front of your egg and remove the balloon. The edge will be a little rough, so take some smaller pieces of the plaster wrap, wet them and press them over the raw edge to finish it off.  Let the egg dry completely.If you'd like to add some color,  paint the inside of the egg.  Poke a hole through the top, where the knot of the balloon was, thread your ribbon though and secure it with a knot.  Obviously, you don't need to do this part as the eggs look great sitting on a table as well.If your images are on light weight paper, you'll need to glue them onto the poster board so they are stiff enough to stand up.  Then cut them out using scissors or a utility knife.  Secure them in place inside your egg using museum wax (moveable) or hot glue (not so moveable).  To get the three dimensional effect, layer your images.  In one I used three flowers, attached one to the back, one in the middle and had one at the very front.  For one of my others I just used a single flower, but cut out a butterfly and attached it with floral wire to the front of the egg so it was hovering just outside the opening.  On a third I used an image of a bird, a nest, and a branch - again on the back, middle and front of the egg.