How to Make an Earth-Inspired Dragon's Egg (with Dollar Store Foam Board!)

If pastel polka dots aren’t your thing and you'd rather your Easter eggs look like they were plucked from the roots of an ancient forest, you’re in the right place. In this tutorial, we’re turning a dollar store plastic egg into something straight out of a dark fantasy novel—a weathered, earthy dragon’s egg inspired by the natural textures of cracked soil and lichen-covered trees.

This egg is one part of a series of four eggs i made inspiredby the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water. While this article digs deep (pun intended!) into the earth egg,  you can check out the build video for all four eggs here, or read the articles on the fire, water, and air eggs.

The texture of this egg turned out really magical. All I used was some  foam board scraps, some sawdust, and a bit of paint to make it happen. It’s way easier than you’d think! Let’s get crafting!

Step 1:  Gather your Materials

To make your own DIY dragon egg craft, you'll need to gather the following materials:

• Plastic Easter eggs (the bigger, the better)

•  Papier Mache supplies (check out this article or this video for a break down of my paper mache process)

• Sandpaper or a nail file (I really like these nail files for crafting)

• Rubber band, foam board, sawdust, glue

• Acrylic Paint Supplies (check out this article or this video for a break down of the dry-brush paint technique we'll be using.)

Step 2: Prepare Your Egg

• Lightly scuff the surface of your plastic egg to roughen the surface.

• Apply a layer or two of paper mache to the egg. Use really small patches of paperfor smooth layers

• A great tip is to apply a coat of paper mache to one end of the egg, set it in a cup to dry, then flip the egg over to complete the other end.

• Once the egg is completely dry, you can use your nail file to smooth out any bumps in the paper mache.

Step 3: Divide Your Egg into Segments

• Use a rubber band to help visualize lines to dived your egg into 6 vertical segments. This short video explains the process.

• I wanted my sections to be curved, so I sketched some curved lines around my verticle guidelines. 

• Trace over your segments with a black marker so they're easy to see.

​Step 4: Make a Masking Tape Template

• Cover one egg segment with masking tape. Trace the segment outline onto the tape.

• Carefully peel off the tape, flatten it, and cut to the outline just drawn.

• This tape shape will be your template for cutting out your  foam pieces.

Step 5: Cut Foam Board Segments

• Using your template, trace six segments onto foam board. 

• Cut out the segments with a craft knife and peel the paper coating from both sides.

Step 6: Texturize the Foam

• Bevel the edges of the foam pieces with your craft knife by carving away the top of the cut edge.

• Scrunch a small ball of aluminium kitchen foil and scratch or roll it onto the foam to impart a rustic texture.

Step 7:  Break and Glue the Textured Foam

• Working with one segment at a time, carefully break the foam into several pieces.

• Carefully lay the pieces onto your table in order as you break them.

• Use glue to stick down the foam pieces in order. If you're using white glue, you might have to use masking tape to hold the pieces in place while the glue dries. (If using hot glue, just hold each piece in place until the glue cools.)

Step 8: Repeat with the Remaining Foam Segments

• Repeat the foam breaking and gluing process for the remaining segments.

• I recommend working on every other segment around the egg, letting those segments dry, then filling in the gaps.

Step 9:  Prime and Paint

• Give the entire egg a couple coats of black primer. There's a great recipe for a DIY primer here.

• When the primer is dry, dry-brush the foam segments with brown. I used burnt umber by Liquitex Basics.

• When the brown is dry, add a second layer of dry-brushing with light greenish grey. (I custom  mixed this colour).
  

Step 10: Add Lichen Texture with Sawdust

• I wanted to add a lichen texture between the foam segments. I made a DIY texture paste by mixing sawdust into some watered-down white glue tinted with raw sienna paint. If you don't have access to sawdust, try swapping it our for baking soda!

• Use a palette knife to spread the texture paste between the foam pieces. A toothpick is helpful for pushing paste into smaller crevices.

• Let the paste dry completely.

Step 11: Finish with a Mossy Green Touch

• When your texture paste is fully dry, go in with some small touches of bright green

• Keep the placement small, light and random. This little pop of bright colour really brings the whole egg to life!

Step 12: Seal and Display

• If you'd like, you can seal your egg with a matte or satin finish polycrylic top coat.  I don't usually bother as i find the acrylic paint I use has a nice finish itself. 

• I've displayed my egg on the  cardboard center of a roll of electrical tape that I've painted black. These eggs also look great on a gothic style candle holder, or in a small dish

If you upcycle a plastic easter egg into a fantasy dragon egg based on this tutorial,  it would make my day if you’d share it with me. I’m @JaneSawyerMakes on TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, Threads,  and Twitter (X). Find lots of other budget-friendly art projects on my YouTube Channel. Please share and pin this article!