Paper and lace Easter egg

I was visiting Carolyn’s blog ‘Shopping My Stash’ and saw how she has been tatting on paper, recently dong Easter eggs.  I thought it looked like fun and decided to try it myself
Paper and lace Easter egg
The cross in the center is a sticker, the thread is Lizbeth Ecru #603 in size 20.
It’s a simple project that took me forever to get going.  First I decided to buy a 1/8″ punch for the holes.  The day after I bought one I found I already had one, in an unopened package no less.  Then I decided on the cross for the center and had to find paper and thread that worked with it.  This had me going through my scrap-booking paper to find that the ones that I liked the best were not on card stock.  I did eventually find paper I liked that would work.  When I finally made my choices and cut the paper I ruined one of them by not paying close enough attention to where I punched the holes.  As you can see on this one I could have paid closer attention to punching these holes, as well, but they are much better than the previous one.
I obviously wasn’t thinking things through when I started tatting on this.  On the first ring I made the first picot pretty short (which will be the final join) but the third picot long enough to reach the ring that will be in the next hole.  Why I didn’t fix that first picot I don’t know, but it became an issue in the end, of course.  I faked it at the end, and though it’s visible, I don’t think it came out too bad.  I added a loop of narrow ecru ribbon at the top so it can be hung up.  Originally I had thought to make an extra ring at the top to hang it from, but I didn’t like the look when I tried it. 
I am pleased with how it came out.  I also have a better idea of what I’m going to do if I make any more of these.  Or anything similar.  Thank you, Carolyn, for the inspiration and the tips on this paper and lace project.
I’m thinking about doing a few of these with old Christmas cards and giving them to family and close friends as my yearly ornament. If I start now I might have a few done in time.  It depends on how hard it is to pick out the thread…
I ended up giving this to a friend of mine whose aunt had died the week before Easter.  I also gave him a tatted cross bookmark, my usual sympathy gift.  It just seemed appropriate.
“A portion of your soul has been entwined with mine. A gentle kind of togetherness, while separate we stand. As two trees deeply rooted in separate plots of ground, while their topmost branches come together, forming a miracle of lace against the heavens.”
Janet Miles
http://www.searchquotes.com/