Easter Eggs

All you need to dye your own Easter eggs is:

• eggs (white-shelled preferably)
• vinegar
• dye
• water
• a saucepan
• paper towels

Using homemade dye

1. To make homemade dye, you will need vinegar, food coloring and a cup for each color you want to make. Mix 1 tablespoon of food coloring with 2 teaspoons of vinegar, then add water until the liquid is deep enough to submerge an entire egg. Do this with each color you want to use.

2. Hard boil your eggs, then let them cool completely.

3. Place a cool, hard-boiled egg into a cup of dye. The longer the egg soaks, the deeper the color will get.

4. Remove the egg when the color is how you want it. Pat the egg dry with a paper towel.

Using natural dye

1. Fill a saucepan with enough water to cover the eggs you want to dye with one particular color. Add 1/2 Tablespoon of vinegar and the source of your dye (see below for a list of color sources). Add uncooked eggs.

2. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer about 10-15 minutes. The longer the eggs simmer, the darker their color will be.

3. When the eggs have simmered long enough to cook thoroughly and have achieved the color you want, remove them from the water and pat them dry with a paper towel.

Natural dye sources

Orange - chili powder, paprika

Yellow - turmeric, cumin, chamomile tea, saffron

Brown - black tea, coffee

Green - spinach

Blue - blueberries

Purple - red wine, purple grape juice, red zinger or hibiscus tea, purple onion skin

Brown - black tea, coffee

Get creative

Striped eggs. To create stripes of color, wrap rubber bands around the eggs before you dye the first color. Remove the bands, revealing uncolored strips of shell, then dip them in a second color.

Marbled eggs. To create a marbled effect, add 1 Tablespoon of oil to one of your homemade dye cups, stir, then drop a hard-boiled egg in and remove quickly. When you pat it dry, the color will have a swirled look.

To create the same type of effect with a natural dye, soak an onion skin (or several) to soften, then wrap the egg in the skin(s). Secure the skin to the egg by placing the wrapped egg in a nylon stocking or in a piece of cloth that you can tie off, then boil the wrapped egg in your dye water. When the egg has cooled, remove the stocking/cloth and onion skin to reveal a marbled shell.

Crayon-patterned eggs. Crayons contain wax, and if you apply wax to an egg shell, it will repel dye. So, to create a pattern that won't be erased by dye, draw on the egg shell using a crayon or wax, then dip in your dye. When removed from the dye, the wax pattern will remain.

Skip the dyeing! You can skip dyeing all together and still have festive Easter eggs. Hard-boil your eggs, and when they're completely cooled and dry, decorate with crayons, paint, glue and glitter, markers, stickers, etc.

How do you decorate Easter eggs?

Do you know a fun way to decorate Easter eggs - a great dye to use or a creative decoration? Tell your fellow readers!

Easter Decorations

Easter Ideas

Frugal Holidays

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