Natural Easter Egg Dyeing

This year I tried a Green twist on Easter egg dyeing. I googled Natural Easter Dye and came up with several sites that had recipes. So, I dove in and tried it. One thing that I realized when doing this -- is that it takes awhile for the dye to adhere to the egg. The longer you soak it, the better results you will get. I read that some suggested leaving overnight to soak.




As a mom....knowing the kids would rather see instant results to be able to be more creative with their egg dyeing...sometimes it is better to use the store tablets. However, the beet juice did work pretty well. I think if you were to make your dyes in advance and make them more potent, it might work out more beneficial for the impatient child!

To Make Natural Dyes for Easter Eggs:


What you will need:

Natural dyeing agents (red cabbage, turmeric, onion skins, beets, blueberries, orange peels, and coffee)
3-quart pot (or larger)
White vinegar
Strainer
Small bowls
Eggs
Large metal spoon
Paper towels
Drying rack


Green – spinach powder or parsely powder ( green was a difficult color to do for us -- I ended up blending fresh spinach and vinegar in our vitamix and then straining it...it worked fairly well)

Brown

1 cup strong coffee and 1 tablespoon vinegar

Blue/ Purple

Cut 1/4 head of red cabbage into chunks. Add cabbage to 4 cups boiling water. Stir in 2 tablespoons vinegar. Let cool to room temperature. Remove cabbage with a slotted spoon.

Bluish-Gray

Mix 1 cup frozen blueberries with 1 cup water. Bring to room temperature. Remove blueberries.

Dark Pink/ Red

Cut 1 medium beet into chunks. Add beet to 4 cups boiling water. Stir in 2 tablespoons vinegar. Let cool to room temperature. Remove beets.

Yellow

Remove the peel from 1 orange. Add peel to 4 cups boiling water. Stir in 2 tablespoons vinegar. Let cool to room temperature. Remove orange peel.

Orange – curry powder/tumeric or onion skins
- for onion skins boil in water -- then add vinegar. Strain. Set egg in for at least 1/2 hour
- for tumeric powder - mix 4 Tablespoons with 4 cups boiling water and 2 Tablespoons vinegar.