The Making of an #EggVignette®

What is an #eggvignette anyway?  Let’s first talk about what a vignette is. Nowadays, people often refer to a vignette as an arrangement of  “things” in a grouping, and this could be anything from a collection of vintage items grouped together displayed in an antique store, a delicious selection of meat and cheese on a charcuterie board,  or an assortment of beautiful floral arrangements in a garden shop. There are vignettes everywhere! About four years ago, we coined the phrase #eggvignette on our Instagram page and encouraged people to arrange their eggs in pretty, creative ways and post their pictures using the hashtag each week. We always do an #eggvignette kick-off on Thursdays, and everyone has until Sunday evening to post their photo. On Mondays, we include a “feature” on our Instagram page with nine or ten egg pics from those that that shared and followed all the guidelines to play, but more on that later. The tag received a wonderful response and we now have over 16K entries. People often comment about how much they look forward to sharing and playing along each week. For me, creating a lovely #eggvignette is relaxing and fun. So, how do you create an #eggvignette? #EggVignette can be as simple or as fancy as you want it to be. What gets your creative juices flowing?  I often get my inspiration for creating an #eggvignette from the outdoors. Eggs are beautiful just as they are. So, how much more beautiful is a basket full of eggs in the green grass, amongst colorful flowers, nestled in a bunch of leaves, or in the snow? These are just a few examples of a an #eggvignette in a natural setting, but oftentimes, I use the log cabin as a backdrop. I enjoy placing my eggs on the porch bench with a pretty tea towel, hanky, or flowers,  letting the old logs serve as the background. Just use your imagination! There are many photo opportunities out there! Lighting can always be a concern, but an overcast day is a great time to take that pic, because you don’t have to worry about the bright sun, dappled light or shadows, especially for those close-up shots. Sometimes it is just impossible to get that perfect picture outside, perhaps it is too cold, or it is a rainy day.  This is a great time to do an indoor shot.  I much prefer doing my #eggvignettes outside, but when I have to, I start looking for inspiration indoors. Maybe your style is rustic farm house, shabby chic, or light and bright. I happen to love all of those, and sometimes my mood dictates where my #eggvignette will take me. I needed to come up with an #eggvignette for this week’s Thursday kick-off. It was raining outside, so I knew I wouldn’t be doing one outdoors. I decided that I wanted to do a pink one, and I started collecting the items from around the house that I wanted to use. I had these beautiful roses that I received for Valentine’s Day, a single napkin with pretty hand-painted roses, an egg cup, a book on Roses displayed on the table in my foyer, a pretty pink tea-cup with feet, and beautiful eggs, of course. Since it was such a dreary day, I went to my sitting room to work on my creation. I often do my flat-lays in there, on the ottoman. This room probably has the best lighting in the house. Next, I just arranged the items the way I thought they looked the prettiest. I’ll look at the vignette through my phone to see if I like it or not, and if I do, I shoot.  Sometimes it takes several tries arranging and re-arranging to get it just right, and I did have to adjust the brightness a bit on my phone as I took it. So, you see it really isn’t that difficult! I hope this inspired you to try your hand at creating an #eggvignette. If you don’t have eggs from your own hens, you can also use market purchased eggs. Oh, and they don’t have to be chicken eggs either. Quail, duck, turkey and guinea fowl eggs are acceptable.

Here’s how to share and play along with #eggvignette on Instagram!

1. Take a pretty picture of your eggs!
2. As you type up your description, please say that you are “sharing and playing along with @happydaysfarm for #eggvignette.”
3. Tag us ON your pic!
4. Invite some friends to play along!

Happy creating!