You have 10 minutes, $10 and a homemade gift to whip up? Perfect! That's exactly what you need to make this cute little egg and toast holder.
Here's a funny story.
Once, in a land far, far away, during a dark and stormy night, it was the best of times and it was the worst of times. A little woman named Karen, got herself 4 little red hens, because she always, always wanted to have her own chickens so she could gather her own eggs. She built them a house made out of sticks that would protect them from the big, bad wolf, and she fed them a trail of bread crumbs. In other words, she poured her whole fairy tale life into making sure she had happy hens and fresh eggs, struggling night and day, with God as her witness she would never go hungry again.
Even though she didn't really like eggs.
The moral of this fairy tale is that Karen is a whack job and she's fine with it. She also likes to mix metaphors and famous phrases.
I like eggs as an ingredient but I don't really like eggs on their own. Like the thought of eating a hard boiled egg makes my face screw up into something resembling an anus . I don't eat sunny side up, over easy, soft boiled or poached. Unless it's Eggs Benedict prepared by someone who really knows what they're doing (I am not that someone) I eat scrambled eggs and scrambled eggs alone.
So the truth is out that I have chickens not for their eggs but for secret voodoo reasons.
Having said that, I understand there are many of you who do enjoy a nice hard boiled or soft boiled egg every so often. And YOU may even know other people who enjoy such things.
Which makes today's DIY gift idea perfect. Some people make rules about only giving handmade gifts, or there are those of you who only like to give handcrafted presents because you're caring and thoughtful and don't buy into the whole commercialism of Christmas. I, personally, embrace the commercialism of Christmas. But I like to give or get a DIY gift as well.
It is for all of you, you egg loving fiends, that I have this DIY eggcup you can make in about 10 minutes for about 10 dollars. Actually you can make about 10 of them for about $10.
*10 minutes is a generalization based on someone who is comfortable with tools, cutting, drawing straight lines and is referring to how long it takes per eggcup.
DIY Eggcup & Toast Holder
Materials (for 5 egg and toast holders)
1" x 6" x 4' piece of pine
Wood glue
Tools
Circular saw
Drill with 1 ¾" hole saw
Ruler
Pencil
Steps
- Cut board into 5 lengths of 9".
- Mark each board at 5", 2.5", ¾" and ¾".
3. Using a 1 ¾" hole saw drill 2 holes into the 2.5" section of the board.
4. Cut along each line. Cut directly on top of the line, not to the left or to the right of the line. On top of the line. If you aren't accurate with your cutting you run the risk of ruining everything and living out your life in a van down by the river.
5. Squeeze a bunch of wood glue onto the back of the egg holding portion and the two smaller pieces.
6. Align the egg holder and the two thinner pieces on top of the largest piece of wood and clamp it down until the glue dries.
7. If you don't have clamps, don't worry about it. Books to the rescue. Just weigh the egg holder down with anything hefty. Like your hydro bill for instance.
10 minutes, $10, 10 gifts. The fairytale ending to your DIY gift giving dilemma.
You'd rather buy a present? Try my Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide.
M J
I always read all of the comments...so I’m addicted as well‼️ To quote Dr. Seuss...
“I do not like green eggs and ham, said Sam I am”🤣‼️ As for real eggs they’re okay but I love, love, love chocolate so maybe I’ll work on a recipe for chocolate & eggs or maybe not⁉️ Love your humor Karen ~ this is the best way to start my day with your humor & fabulous ideas❣️ Thank you so much Karen❣️Yes, I’m an emoji junkie‼️
Suzette
Lovely, but toast on a rack is one of those Brit things that I have never understood. Cold toast. Weird.
Anybody who doesn't do eggs....try cooking them in coconut oil. Huge difference.
And coddled eggs. There are actually these cool China thingies with screw on lids for coddling them. You can put ham in as well as bread and then stick them in boiling water. I have three antique ish ones.
Stephanie
I loved this the first time you posted it and meant to make some for my aunts for Christmas .... this time maybe I will!
Karen
Maybe you will! :) ~ karen!
Bos
Hate cold toast!
Paula
I would like to know how much thought went into selecting the books for the photo? (-_-)
Tina
Damn it! Now I’m hungry for eggs and bacon!
Marti
Gah. I still don't like eggs. Not even scrambled. Better as an ingredient. And I wanted ducklings/ducks for pets. Pondering whether they would live in a coop and perhaps their eggs might be edible, if I didn't have such ulterior motives on the fantasy of keeping ducks.
Just in case I ever do get a duck pond and farm, I will expect you to provide a great recipe for Peking Duck, k?
Stephanie
Duck Eggs are edible and delicious!
Cynthia
I"M WITH YOU ON ONLY EATING THEM SCRAMBLED AND IN CAKE> SOMETHING ABOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHOMPING INTO A CHICKEN OVUM PUTS ME RIGHT OFF> SORRY ABOUT THE CAPS> MY L APTOP IS STUCK ON CAPSLOCK> YEH
Jan in Waterdown
Why is it that some of your posts and the resulting comments section seem to require multiple comments from moi while with others, not so much? If you are even remotely considering trying a fried egg, may I recommend over medium with NO uncooked egg white, which btw is incredibly disgusting, in a hot fry pan that has just been used to fry up a bunch of well done bacon. That way you will get the gorgeous "brown lace" at the edges . . . yummy.
Cathy Reeves
Those are the ‘crispy eggs’ I referred to by Deb Pearlman.
They are exquisite.
Heather
I only like eggs as an ingredient or scrambled as well. It turns my stomach to watch my husband eating "dippy" eggs. I have to leave the room. Needless to say that since he has to make them thankfully he doesn't eat them often. So I won't be needing to make your egg and toast maker either but it is a cute idea. This is my first comment I've ever made so I just wanted to say I really enjoy your blog. It is the perfect mix of useful, humor and education.
Karen
Thanks Heather! I love that you commented. And I really love the phrase "dippy" eggs, lol. ~ karen!
Darla
You know your addicted to a blog when you have to read every blog just to see what whitty comments the bloggers comes up with. Regardless of whether you are interested in the subject they are talking about. I too am scrambled only kind of girl. Oh, and in cake and pie...you get the picture.
Jo
This is Lovely Karen. Thank you so much for the idea. Really appreciated.
Sandra
I like my eggs ON my toast (poached), so this woodn't work for me. And, I like my boiled eggs soft, so this wood (haha) get really messy, cos I angle the egg to get the butter in it, then scoop out with my spoon. That's if I leave it in the shell. Usually I just scoop the egg out of the shell put in on a plate, then it's easy to get the butter on my spoon, and grab a bit of egg. Mmmm.
Patsy Lortie
I love the egg and toast holder. Thinking now of how I might make one our of some scrap wood hanging out in the garage. I used to have china egg cups as a child, and have since loved boiled egg holders (collect occasional ones as well).
I hope that you might add an Erma Bombeck book (If life is a bowl of Cherries, why am I always in the Pits?) to your tower. Please read if you haven't yet. Her humour lives on, even is she is no longer here.
Lovely Monday read Karen!
Cheryl
Speaking of the stack of books, 10 points for clever watermark placement.
maggie van sickle
Love the egg and toast catcher but I am not a handy woman. I really do not like hard cooked eggs unless in an egg salad sandwich and I am not a scrambled egg kind of person; however I love soft boiled, poached and fried over easy with buttered toast. There ya have it Karen my history on egg loving. have a great day.
Liz
So did the chickens get to feast on those pretty eggs?
Joules
It would really be easier for me if you could just stick your logo on it, mark it up a bunch and sell it to me. I'd buy it. =)
Katie C.
I, too, do not like eggs! Not even scrambled. I only like them baked into something delicious... Like cookies.
Do you think a couple shot glasses would fit in the holes?
Nicole
I'm not an eggs-on-their-own fan either. But I like the shots-with-toast idea. :) I think I'll stick with the vanilla as my DIY gift. I shook it this morning and it's nice and dark. I'm going to decant to smaller bottles right before Xmas.
Alena
Or, you could use a thicker plank of pine and dado the grooves. Which would eliminate the glue as well as the little bit of an overbite of the part with the circular cut-outs. Just saying.
I love eggs in any form (although like another reader mentioned above, especially in a cake) but I hate home-made gifts. So your egg toast thingy would probably end up in the basement where, I am sure, it would prove itself useful during some future project.
I hope the person who bought the knitted dish cloths in the Value Village where I took them to appreciates them. The dish cloths that my awesome neighbour lovingly made for me.
The fact that I didn't keep and use them always burdened my heart and I am hoping to alleviate the burden by this confession.
Karen
Hi Alena. Your'e right. But I wanted to make this DIY as simple as possible for people who might not necessarily be all that comfortable with or own a lot of tools. Technically the best thing would be to use a router, but most people don't own a router and if they do, they might not own these particular bits. So I went with just using a circular saw and a drill so pretty much everyone could make one if they wanted. ~ karen!
Alena
Oh I know. But I do love to tease you. :-)
Jan in Waterdown
My mom made hand knitted dishcloths and while I don't use them, I cannot bring myself to get rid of them. I seem to be getting more sentimental as I age. Or maybe it's a hoarding thing. Uchh.
Alena
Jan, I completely understand the sentimental value. If they were made by my mom I would have probably kept them (unused). I have two damask tablecloths (including napkins), one in mildly washed out sunflower yellow and the other one in pink. Because those were the 'in' colours when my mom bought them for me (some 30 yrs ago) or maybe because mom liked those colours. Neither of those colours is allowed in my house (ditto for damask).
I thought many times of donating them to a thrift store because I constantly move them from one place to another (don't really have a lot of storage) but I just can't.
Jan in Waterdown
Oh my golly, Alena, you're taking me on a trip down memory lane. I have damask tablecloths & serviettes in mint green, blue and white. They're from the ’50's and 60's. Guess that qualifies them as vintage . . . hmmm, what does that say about me? lol
Cussot
Dye them? A nice warm mustard and a moody, dusty mauve?