Natural Easter Eggs – A Project For Kids

NATURALLY DYED EASTER EGGS

Give the Easter bunny a run for his money by dyeing Easter eggs the natural way,  using natural dyes from coffee, red cabbage and onion skins.

You’ll need:

• Saucepan
• Slotted spoon
• Eggs
• Water
• White vinegar
• Crayons*
• Elastic bands*
• Sponges*

* Optional

Guide to dyes:

Red
Red onion skins, use a lot (boil with eggs)
Pomegranate juice

Orange
Yellow onion skins (boil with eggs)

Yellow
Lemon or orange peel (boil with eggs)
Carrot tops (boil with eggs)
Celery seed (boil with eggs)
Ground cumin (boil with eggs)
Ground turmeric (boil with eggs)

Yellow Brown
Dill seeds (boil with eggs)

Brown
Strong coffee
Instant coffee
Black walnut shells (boil with eggs)

Yellow Green
Bright green apple peels (boil with eggs)

Green
Spinach leaves (boil with eggs)

Blue
Canned blueberries and their juice
Red cabbage leaves (boil with eggs)
Purple grape juice

Violet Blue
Violet blossoms
Red onion skins, less amount than you need to make red (boil with eggs)

Lavender
Diluted purple grape juice
Violet blossoms plus squeeze of lemon (boil with eggs)

Pink
Beets, fresh or canned
Cranberries or cranberry juice
Raspberries
Red grape juice

How to dye eggs naturally:

• Use your own judgment about exactly how much of each dye stuff to use. Except for spices, place a handful (or two or three handfuls) of a dyestuff in a saucepan.
• Add tap water to come at least one inch above the dye stuff. 
  NOTE: This will be about 1 cup of water for each handful of dyestuff.
• Bring the water just to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low. Let simmer about 15 minutes or up to an hour until you like the color obtained. Keep in mind that dyed eggs will not get as dark as the color in the pan. Remove the pan from the heat.
• Pour mixture into a liquid measuring cup. Add 2 to 3 teaspoons of white vinegar for each cup of strained dye liquid. Pour the mixture into a bowl or jar that is deep enough to completely cover the eggs you want to dye.
• Use a slotted spoon  to lower the eggs into the hot liquid. Leave the eggs in the water until you like the color.
  NOTE: Allow the egg to sit in the tea for several hours or overnight. The longer the egg soaks, the deeper the final color will be. If you plan to eat the eggs be sure to do this step in the refrigerator.
• When eggs are dyed to the color you desire, lift the eggs out with the slotted spoon. Let them dry on a rack or drainer.
  NOTE: An egg carton works nicely as a drying rack.
  Be careful to handle the eggs gently and minimally as some of the colors can easily be rubbed off before the egg has dried.
• For a textured look, dab the still wet egg with a sponge.
• Eggs colored with natural dyes have a dull finish and are not glossy. After they are dry, you can rub the eggs with cooking oil or mineral oil to give them a soft sheen.

Decorating Tips:

• Start with hard-cooked (boiled) eggs and refrigerate until ready to use.
• The longer you soak the eggs in the following dye liquids (of your choice), the more intense the colors will be.
• If desired, before dyeing the eggs, draw shapes, pictures or inspiring words on them with crayons or a piece of wax. The wax won’t absorb the color so the designs will show through. Using a crayon, simply draw a design onto your eggs and then dye as you would any other Easter egg. Your crayon design will be accentuated by your choice of dye!
• Rubber bands are all you need to make tie-dyed eggs. Use a collection of different sized rubber bands. Wrap the rubber bands, one at a time, around the eggs. Make sure to leave some of the egg shell exposed so it can be dyed.
• Once the eggs are dyed to the color you like, remove them from the water and let them dry. Once dried completely, pull the rubber bands off to reveal your banded design.