Enchanted by eggs? There’s something so satisfying about that solid form, it’s no wonder the egg is showing up everywhere in home decor and accessories.

Clockwise from left:

• Egg-shaped ceramic Nyokki Grass Pets are handmade in Japan. Filled with growing medium and rye grass seeds, they’ll grow a lovely head of green hair in less than two weeks. They come in various animal characters, from this pretty yellow kitty-cat or the classic yellow chick, to a pink pig or bright blue bear, and more.
• Faberge, of course, practically invented the egg as a decorative objet. This hand-painted porcelain Coronet Flower Limoges Egg opens up to reveal a 24k gold-plated flower basket as a surprise gift hidden inside.
• Edesse Design’s fried egg table puts any room sunny-side-up with its whimsical top in painted MDF, perched on slim chrome legs.
• Squirrel-proof birdhouses are hard to find, but the glossy ceramic Egg Bird House is said to be just that. Handmade exclusively by J Schatz in New York, the earthenware-and-aluminum eggs are durable enough to hang outside year-round, beautiful enough — in 8 shiny colours — to make an unusual decoration in a modern room.
• Tiny pinprick holes in the handcrafted ceramic Star Egg Nightlight let out just enough light to scatter a starry-night illusion on a bedroom ceiling. Lovely! The base is brushed stainless steel, and it comes with a clear electrical cord so as not to detract from the elegant simplicity of the egg form.

Okay, now I may be just bragging:
Look, Ma, I painted this cute little birdhouse all by myself!

This church-shaped birdhouse was a gift for an elderly friend, made following a pattern in Making & Painting Victorian Birdhouses, which I picked up for $5 last year, during an excellent Amazon sale.

My friend’s son did the woodworking and I did the painting.

It was the first time I ever painted something as small as those tiny little flowers that climb up in front of the stained-glass windows. My hands really were shaking!

But it was just so much fun to make something like this, myself, at home!

And a very frugal gift, too, as well as a very personal one.

Some of the hardware stores have blank wooden shapes for decorative painting that would be fun to play with if you don’t know anyone who likes to make little objects out of wood.

I painted a smiling little bee for a sign this summer. There’s a picture of it somewhere around here… I’ll post it later if I can find it…

The church birdhouse has a coat of clear weather-proofing stuff on it, but my friend thought it was too pretty to put outdoors so she keeps it on display on a wide windowsill in her apartment.