How-To

Decal Eggs

You can decorate hard-boiled or hollow eggs, but only hollow ones can be saved for future use. To hollow eggs, see step 1 of the wreath instructions.
Martha Stewart Living, April 2013

Tools and Materials

Ink-jet printer
Clear decal paper
Craft scissors
Eggs
Spray varnish

  1. Print clip art onto decal paper.
  2. Spray the paper with two coats of varnish; let dry after each coat.
  3. Cut out individual decals, staying as close to the designs as possible. Soak them in a bowl of water for about a minute.
  4. Remove a decal from the water and slowly separate it from its backing, sliding it onto the egg as you go. Smooth with your fingertips. Gently press a paper towel against the decal to absorb excess water.
  5. Let dry a few minutes; repeat with additional decals. Try multiples of the same design, or a collage of different images.
  6. Let dry overnight, then spray with a coat of varnish.

Resources

Kamar varnish, by Krylon, $8 for 11 oz., joann.com
Inkjet Waterslide decal paper, in Clear, $17 for 20 sheets, decalpaper.com

Reviews (23)

  • carolina moon
    14 Apr, 2013

    I at first had problems with the decal designs printing, but I downloaded them as a pdf file and my problems were solved!

  • sgcowles
    4 Apr, 2013

    Help ! I printed my pattern onto the decal paper, cut the decals , stuck them on the egg and they all came undone and will not stay on the egg. Any suggestions?

  • grrapson
    1 Apr, 2013

    I too am having trouble getting rid of the heading. I downloaded the current Adbobe and now when I click on the clip art, I just get a dark screen for all clip art options. Wow, what did I do wrong?

  • sgcowles
    29 Mar, 2013

    Good answer! I think you might be right about the water-proofing. Thank you.

  • SallyO64
    29 Mar, 2013

    As far as the varnish goes, I'm only guessing here, but maybe it's so the ink doesn't run when you soak it in water (if your ink isn't waterproof). Just a guess.

  • SallyO64
    29 Mar, 2013

    I got it to work by right clicking on the decal page and saving it to my computer. Then I opened it in Adobe Reader and it printed without the text across the page. When I tried to print it right from the web page without downloading it to my computer, it printed the text across the page.

  • sgcowles
    29 Mar, 2013

    Does anyone know why we need to spray varnish the decal paper? Thank you

  • jacsmama
    27 Mar, 2013

    Printed fine for me, also.

  • SutoJL
    26 Mar, 2013

    It print fine for me, Look at your print settings in Adobe Reader after you hit print and look for the section that says comments and forms, make sure it is set to Document, NOT Document and Markups or Document and Stamps. You can download Adobe Reader X1 (11) if you don't have it.

  • MSLO Moderator
    25 Mar, 2013

    If the comments appear when you print, please verify that you have an updated version of Adobe Acrobat Reader properly installed.
    The template does print correctly without the text. To make sure, print a test page using a blank piece of paper before slipping the decal
    paper in the paper tray.

  • HLS1
    23 Mar, 2013

    You need to go into your pdf layers and click the eyeball to make the text go away.

  • sgcowles
    23 Mar, 2013

    Do any of the comments ever get answered ?!!!

  • sgcowles
    23 Mar, 2013

    Do we ever get answers to our comments ?

  • partymaker
    22 Mar, 2013

    PLEASE CAN YOU FIX THE DECAL PRINTOUT. I KEEP GETTING THE MESSAGE ACROSS THE SHEETS. I DON'T WANT TO WASTE THAT PAPER IT'S MORE THAN $2.00 SHEET!!! HELP ME, PARTY MOM

  • manu_nui
    22 Mar, 2013

    I don't know if this has been fixed by now, but wanted to say that I was able to print without the "this text won't appear" section. My print window had a drop-down box with the heading "Comments & Forms" and the 3 choices were "Document" "Document and Markups" and "Document and Stamps" - I chose "Document" and it printed clean.

  • AndreaHelen1
    22 Mar, 2013

    I can't get anything to print. The sheet goes in; the sheet comes out. Total blank. I am disappointed. Andrea L

  • sgcowles
    22 Mar, 2013

    Has the problem been fixed in regards to printing on decal paper ?

  • Campbell323
    21 Mar, 2013

    The text printed on my decal paper also. Will this issue be rectified prior to Easter?

  • Campbell323
    21 Mar, 2013

    The text which should not appear on the printed paper for decals, does appear. Please advise when this problem is fixed. Wasted paper is not a "good thing!"

  • Linnea
    20 Mar, 2013

    The problem must be fixed. I just test printed onto regular paper and the "message" did not appear.

  • BobVT
    15 Mar, 2013

    I have the same issue as bunnyox. The message "these words will not appear on your PDF printout" DID APPEAR! I ruined 3 sheets of decal paper which is costly. Please fix ASAP and advise us it has been fixed so we don't spoil more decal paper.

  • BobVT
    15 Mar, 2013

    Same issue as bunnyox. The words "will not appear on your PDF printout, etc." DID appear. I have spoiled 3 sheets of decal paper which was quite expensive. Please fix it ASAP. Easter is right around the corner.

  • bunnyox
    14 Mar, 2013

    I just printed out the decal PDF and the text ("Don't worry! This text won't appear on your printout!. . . .") does appear on the print out. Can you please fix this?