Natural Easter Egg Dyes

You may find that you have hundreds more color options when it comes to dying the perfect Easter Egg. Follow the following steps and then choose your color below!

1. Fill a medium sized pan with enough water to cover the egg(s) and your natural ingredient(s) from the list below. (Remember, white eggs work best.)

2. Heat the water to a boil until the natural dye ingredients change the watercolor to the color you desire your eggs to be. (Eggs will be somewhat of a lighter shade than the water appears.)

3. a. Add a tablespoon of vinegar to the mixture, two tablespoons for larger pots. Put your uncooked eggs in the pan and boil them as desired. (Normally about 10-15 minutes, dependent upon the amount of eggs you have in the pot.)

3. b. Alternately, you can remove the dyed water from the heat, add the vinegar, and allow it to cool until it is just warm. Place your cooked eggs in the water and allow the dye to work.

(For harsher coloring, let the eggs soak in the dye for a longer period of time. For light color, usually no more than fifteen minutes should be fine. Some colors may only need to soak for thirty seconds.)

Coloring:

Light Purple: Purple Grape Juice

Pink: Cranberry Juice, Raspberries, Red Grape Juice, Beets

Yellow: Green Tea Bags, Yellow Onion Peels, Lemon Peels, Celery Seed, Cumin

Red: Red Onion Skins, Red Beet Juice

Brown: Coffee, Tea, Chili Powder

Blue: Red Cabbage Leaves, Canned Blueberries

Green: Spinach Leaves

Experiment with natural food items and spices you have around your house. Remember to boil the items with water and vinegar. Mixing multiple colored items may result in some fantastic colors.

Soaking the egg in the dye for too long can result in great color, but unwanted taste if you intend to eat the egg. While soaking your eggs in the natural dye be sure to check the color often for the best desired effect.

Drawing on the eggs with a crayon prior to dying will have a stunning effect, as it does with regular dyes. Try wrapping the eggs in a few rubber bands before dying them for a nice lined effect.

For double colored eggs, always started with the lighter, or paler, shade first.

The most important ingredient to making your natural Easter Eggs if FUN! Experimenting with the countless color options is a great way to spend Easter vacation with the kids.