Decorating eggs is one of my favorite childhood memories. At our house it was all about the add-ons: Rubber bands for a tie dyed effect, Crayon drawing, dripped wax, intentional cracks, even glued on 'hair' for portrait eggs - you name it, we gave it a try.
This years approach was back to basics. In place of store bought box kits, I raided our pantry and fridge for natural dyes. The end results were muted pastels fit for a grown up Easter basket.
Most of the eggs were hardboiled in advance, added to the dye solutions and left for 4 - 24 hours. For the spice dyed eggs, I used the following portions:
- 1 - 2 tablespoons of your chosen herb or spice
- 1 cup of water
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
The coffee and onion skin dyed eggs were colored using household food scraps. Coffee grounds and the very end of a pot were added to 1/4 cup of water and 2 tablespoons of vinegar. The onion skins were saved from the night before dinner prep. They were added to 1 cup of water and 2 tablespoons of vinegar. In both cases the eggs were left in the solutions over night.
The spinach and cranberry dyed eggs were cooked with their dyes. I used full bag each ingredient (both the spinach and cranberries had started to turn, so this felt like a great use for them), enough water to cover the eggs and 4 tablespoons of vinegar. The eggs and dyes were brought to a boil for 10-15 minutes and then left to cool at room temperature. I left the eggs in the dye solution over night.
Sumac - Speckled Lavender
Cranberries - Lavender
Hibiscus - Blue
Spinach - Pale Green
Turmeric - Yellow
Chile Powder - Pale Orange
Onion Skins - Orange
Coffee - Marbled Brown
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