Dying Easter Eggs
Kids love to decorate and paint their own easter eggs. It is really easy for them to do. Here are some ideas on how to get them started.
To start, cover a table with layers of old newspaper to soak up any spills. You can also use empty egg cartons as drying racks. Paper towels are really handy to blot off any dye that collects underneath the eggs. It is easier to use food coloring for your colored eggs than homemade dyes. For colorfast egg dyes, mix 7-8 drops of food coloring into 1 cup of hot water. Stir in 1/4
cup vinegar. For more intense colors, use small amounts of professional-quality food coloring gels or pastes, available at craft, cake decorating and kitchen supply stores.
To make your own natural dyes, boil ingredients in water with a tablespoon of vinegar until the desired shade is reached. Strain to remove solids.
Yellow: Yellow onion skins, ground turmeric
Orange: Same as yellow, with added beet juice
Pink: Cranberry juice concentrate
Red: Beets, paprika
Blue: Canned blueberries, red cabbage, grape juice concentrate
Green: Spinach and/or kale
Brown: Strong brewed coffee or tea
For spattered eggs, dip egg in a base color and let dry completely. Dip a clean toothbrush in a contrasting liquid color and carefully flick bristles with your fingers to make paint splatter onto egg. You can also dip eggs with a base color on one end and then dip with another base color on the other end and let dry. Hand decorating is also great. Start off with a base color for the whole egg and once it is dry take some kids paint and create your own picture.