Easter eggs aren’t always about your sweet tooth. I love the look of Sydney artist/blogger Lisa Tilse’s Chalkboard Eggs so much that I thought I’d feature them here. No need to wrestle with crinkled foil or feel dental guilt as you handle these holiday treats. Just chalk away your favourite scribble, sketch or personal directive to the Easter bunny.

These spherical blackboards actually are ostrich eggs that have been hand-painted by Lisa and they even come with a crafted nest to keep them snug and upright.

When did you first get the idea of creating designs with eggs?
A friend of mine is Polish and egg decorating is traditional in Eastern Europe. I saw my friend’s goose eggs and became inspired to do some myself. Then I discovered the beautiful big ostrich eggs – they really are gorgeous things.

They’re a great size and shape to cradle in your hands and they’re quite thick and very strong. I’ve also made bowls out of ostrich eggs, cut in half, and when I get the time, I’m going to really pursue doing more of them. I leave the outside natural and paint and decorate the inside.

So what was the brain-lightbulb moment that led to the Chalkboard Eggs?
I’m not sure where any of my ideas come from – they just seem to pop into my head.

I have quite a few ostrich eggs and goose eggs that I’ve painted, and I had some more hanging around my studio waiting to be decorated. I was thinking about creating a less traditional gift with them, when I came up with the concept.

I like the idea that, once bought, the Chalkboard Eggs will involve someone else’s creativity too.

So how did you find all these eggs to turn into mini-chalkboards?
You can find anything online!

I’m always making things, so my studio and home are often overrun by pieces of timber, lots of paper, vintage ephemera, fabric, etc.

I guess the eggs are a bit more kooky though and they did look like some crazy art installation, with lots of big black eggs covering every available surface of our dining and living area!

How have the Chalkboard Eggs been used at home? Have you all been leaving interesting drawings and messages for each other?
I have one on my desk that I like to doodle and draw on, and we have a couple that we use around our house.

It’s fun to see where they are going to pop up next … and what’s going to be on them. Having them around actually makes us write more little notes and drawings to each other than we would otherwise.

It’s like a little game.

For more details on Lisa’s Chalkboard Eggs, click onto her website here. Or you could take your chances and leave a message scribbled on an ostrich egg somewhere perhaps …

PS. This Saturday on Weekend Lunch – the FBI radio show presented by the amazing Anna Burns – I’ll be talking Easter eggs (yes, the chocolate ones!) and a few fine Sydney places to drop them into your basket.