Leaf Printed Easter Eggs

I saw an art teacher years ago at my children's school put a class project together involving leaf print Easter eggs. I continued to make that a tradition in my family after observing the art teacher doing it one year and now all my kids really look forward to making these Easter eggs every year. Their not too difficult but you'll probably have to help any child under 5.

Supplies
Hard-boiled eggs (large size)

Some sprigs of smaller fern like leaves (fennel or dill work well)

Used pair of tights (tan color)

Scissors, cup and spoon

Elastic bands

Food coloring

Directions
1. Select a flattened leaf, then lay the leaf on the portion of the egg you'd like to make the front. Next, cut a smaller section of your tights and place that fabric in position over the entire egg and leaf.

2. Collect the tights securely in the back of the egg with a rubber band, then place another rubber band around the entire egg to keep everything from moving out of place.

3. Fill a coffee cup with water and add some egg coloring or regular food coloring to the fluid and stir until well mixed.

4. While holding the gathered end of the tights, lower your egg into the cup and allow to sit in the coloring for at least 20 minutes. The egg turns out best if you can let it sit for awhile to create a bolder color that makes the white leaf stand out well.

5. After 20 minutes is up, lift the egg back out of the dye by grabbing the gathered end of the tights again. Take off the rubber band, tights and leaf to expose your leaf design on the egg. Let it dry and display in an egg holder.

There was a year we as a family made numerous leaf eggs like this, and displayed them on a tree branch cut from our tree in the yard that was abundant in smaller branches to string the leaf eggs to. They look beautiful that way, but that particular method requires starting with uncooked eggs that you poke at the top and bottom of the egg and blow out once it's colored. This is a great prop for an Easter family picture to keep for an Easter memory with the kids.