The Scrapbook of 2 Years!

 

My mom had a true artistic talent and that was created Faberge-inspired eggs-real chicken, goose, emu, rhea, ostrich, quail and even little finch eggs. I decided to gather all her photos of her eggs and create a scrapbook in honour of her egg making masterpieces. She actually made a living selling them and became known as the egg lady. 

In the beginning, she used a razor blade to cut the eggs but, later, she got a dremel tool to cut the eggs. She’d use water and glue to strengthen the egg plus the paint, fabric, braids etc also help strengthen the eggs. Once, after curing a swirling pattern out of a goose egg, she placed the egg down only for it to fall on the floor and break in pieces. Instead of throwing it out, she pieced and glued it together! 

Most of the pieces inside the egg were all handmade by her and she would do her best to do it to scale because she hated seeing eggs in books with way too large a figurine put into the egg. She made many special eggs that people wanted like the retirement egg for a lady leaving her job from Shoppers Drug Mart with all the interior hand made including the tiny receipt coming out of the cash register. She also made the tiny lady in front of a sewing machine …all hand done including the lady’s outfit, yup my mom knew how to knit and crochet although that was not her favourite thing to do. 

She would buy Swarovski crystals, toppers, holders and braids but she would use things she found to make a base or create an effect like the flower and gem of the month with the quail egg hung on a grape twig and the base, a wood chip. The animals and people were often made out of bread dough and could be so very tiny like the flowers and leaves in that quail egg. Ok, I wrote enough, so here are some pics my brother took of the album I gave to him.

These are eggs she created  in the early days with bases consisting of a rock, old brooches, pieces found in hardware stores and the wood pieces. The goose egg on the upper right hand side with red silk inside the doors was cut using a razor blade, painted black and gold flowers ( using 2 bristles on a paint brush) with the interior in red silk and the Indian dancer hand carved out of balsa wood.

The top right egg is a goose egg with a birthday card used for the outside flowers which she raised up for a 3D effect. The interior is all handmade and the gold outlining the openings is an actual tiny gold thread, not paint. The base is a wood knot. The bottom right egg s a vase with the flowers all hand created out of bread dough and the base? It’s an oil of Olay bottle.

Yes, she placed tiny thread through the sewing machine so it looked authentic.

She has created many more and I could go on and on but here is a snippet. I had 102 pages and my poor brother couldn’t really close the album so he plans to buy another and have a part one and part 2. I thought this would take me a couple of months, not 2 years! Honestly, I think it meant more than I realized when I undertook this challenge but I’m glad I got it done. 

Have a great Labour Day