This Easter craft is so much fun to make for both kids and adults. Use white oil pastel to draw a design on a paper Easter egg (find free templates linked below!) and then add colour with the bleeding tissue paper. It’s so cool to see the design emerge once the tissue paper is removed!
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Helpful Tips:
Free templates for bleeding tissue paper Easter eggs:
Click on the link below to download a free, printable Easter egg template! The PDF file will open in a new window. Then simply print the template on 8.5 x 11 (letter size) cardstock.
»> Tissue Paper Easter Egg Template «<
Looking for more Easter egg designs? We have a whole post filled with 12 different Easter egg templates in many different sizes. And they’re all FREE to download and print!
What type of tissue paper do you need to use?
Bleeding tissue paper is a special tissue paper made for arts and crafts. Place the tissue paper onto your paper or canvas and then add water with a spray bottle or paintbrush. The colour from the tissue paper transfers over to the paper, creating a watercolor look! Remove the paper after a few minutes, or when it’s dry to reveal the beautiful results.
Can I use regular tissue paper for this craft?
No, we tested regular dollar store tissue paper (from the gift wrapping section) and it didn’t “bleed” at all. Some cheaper paper might, but we didn’t find any that did. So we recommend buying tissue paper that’s specifically labeled “bleeding tissue paper”, or one that has a warning about dyes running when wet.
What type of paper to use for the Easter egg template?
We really like the look of how the tissue paper colours combined on cardstock. The colour also goes through to the back of the paper, which is nice if you want to hang the Easter eggs up as decorations. The cardstock does, however, warp quite a bit, so you’ll need to flatten the eggs after they dry. You can place them under a stack of heavy books or iron them on a low temperature, sandwiched between parchment paper with the oil pastel side facing down. Watercolor paper also works nicely for this craft and it doesn’t warp, because it’s meant to absorb water. However, we found that the tissue paper colour didn’t spread and blend quite as much as it did on the cardstock.
Do I have to use oil pastels to make designs on bleeding tissue paper Easter eggs?
We found that oil pastels worked the best and showed up nice and clearly on our paper eggs. We tried white crayon at first and you couldn’t see the designs on the cardstock when they were done — the water and the dye from the tissue paper saturated the paper too much and the crayon marks were barely visible. If you use watercolor paper, a regular crayon does work, but the design still doesn’t show up as much as it does with the oil pastel. Or you can leave your eggs plain and just colour them with the tissue paper!
Play around with different Easter egg designs and colour combinations, and enjoy the watercolor look of these paper eggs! Hang your bleeding tissue paper Easter eggs from twine or ribbon to create a banner, or place them in a paper Easter basket. Either way it’s a cute and easy craft that kids of all ages will enjoy!
Here’s even more Easter craft ideas:
Marbled Paper Easter Eggs
Watercolor Easter Eggs (with Food Coloring!)
Salt Painted Easter Eggs
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
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