Yarn eggs got me all tied up

So I have experienced my very own Pinterest failed it moment. What is this, you ask? Well, according to me, a failed it moment comes when you attempt to do something you saw on Pinterest, and fail miserably. 

     Here is mine - I saw this great idea for an Easter decoration on Pinterest (you can get to the site by clicking on the caption). 

http://churchfun.com/2009/03/29/free-yarn-easter-egg-project/

     It looked pretty easy to make, very inexpensive, and cute. I even considered trying to do this in my Sunday School class - I teach the 3-5yr olds. I mean, it's a balloon with some glue and yarn. How hard could it be? It sure seems simple enough to pull off...

     Boy was I wrong. My first attempt was laughable in how it turned out. Instead of a cute egg, mine turned out to look more like a bird's nest; and not a very decorative one at that. Thinking back, I believe I used too little glue and too much water. Hmm...

     Surprising enough after that horrible failed it moment, I decided to try the experiment again, with a few minor adjustments.

     This time I started with more yarn, and a lighter color since this is supposed to be an Easter decoration and the first time my colors looked more like Christmastime. And instead of using white craft glue (since I believe you need a good portion of a bottle for one of these), I decided to make my own paper mache paste.

     For those of you who haven't done paper mache before, it's super easy. Mix water and flour with a whisk until it's a gloppy consistency. That's it. Awesomely simple, isn't it? So I used the paper mache paste this time, and I made sure to completely drench each strand of yarn before putting it on the balloon. And when I used up all 24 strands of yarn, here's what it looked like...

 Pretty neat, huh? I was excited already, because it seemed to be drying and firming up much better even at this stage. And yes, this is my very own invention - the Courtney balloon-egg-drying system. I have since improved this to be a piece of yarn threaded through a clothespin and hung on a cabinet knob, but whatever works. 

     And there it hung for the rest of the day. You don't need 24 hours of drying time, but at least 5 or 6 is probably necessary to make sure that it's not wet still. Then I stuck my finger into some of the larger openings to separate the balloon from the dried shell (so it doesn't try to pull the yard inward when you pop the balloon). And finally, POP! I popped the balloon and fished it out.

     Voila! Here is how this one turned out. Pretty good, in my own personal opinion. Since I used white and light pink yarn the colors are very muted; I'm curious what color the blue or red yard would be with this technique. But it is stiff and strong and ready to go on my mantle. If I'm feeling more adventurous later on and get tired of this color I could always spray paint it gold or purple or whatever other color I wanted. And if you don't have a perfectly round balloon, then they would turn out egg-shaped, which is pretty perfect considering the holiday. 

So I actually do consider this one a success... after that first attempt anyway.