Spring is in the air and Easter is the perfect time to try a fun craft with the kids or simply to satisfy the kid in you! Create some distinctive coloured eggs by using sharpies and rubbing alcohol to marble colours together.

Save your old egg boxes and nestle your painted eggs inside to create a cute decoration and add that touch of Easter to your home. If your egg box is looking tatty encourage the kids to make a basket from cardboard or thick paper and fill with colourful tissue paper.

These gorgeous eggs make for an egg-cellent alternative Easter egg for friends and family.

• Eggs prepared for decorating (we used duck eggs because the shells are white)

• An egg cup

• Any colour Sharpie

• A small ceramic plate (that you don’t mind potentially getting stained although the rubbing alcohol should clean any pen off)

• Paint Brushes

• A small bowl

• Rubbing alcohol

You can prepare your eggs for decorating in 2 ways. Simply hard boil each egg and let it cool or alternatively use the blow egg technique to remove the yolk and whites and leave just the empty shell. (Preparing the eggs is a job recommended for the adult in this craft).

Next grab your Sharpie Marker and colour in a small section on your plate.

Dip your paint brush in the rubbing alcohol wiping off the excess, then mop up the colour on the plate that you made with the sharpie - the rubbing alcohol mixes with the colour and gives you a quick drying paint.

TOP TIP – Paint with one colour at a time as the sharpie colour dries on the plate the longer that you leave it.

Apply to your egg delicately, painting by dabbing your paintbrush on the egg. Hold the egg in between your finger and thumb at the top and bottom so as not to get any ink on your hands while you paint.

TOP TIP - To create marbling effect lightly drag your brush across the egg to make faint lines then defuse the colour by dipping your paint brush in the rubbing alcohol and swirling the section of colour on your egg – watch the colours blend.

As the paint dries you will see a marble pattern start to show through. Pick your next colour and repeat.

TOP TIP - Put your egg in the egg cup in between painting while it dries to avoid smudging.

Tah-Da! Once dry your eggs are finished and can be placed into the egg holder of your choice. Try adding back into the egg box with some hay/straw and some mini Easter chicks. Give as delightful gifts or simply arrange around the house for instant Easter appeal.