You're probably saying, "I did my Easter eggs WEEKS ago!" If that happened in my family, all the eggs would be gobbled up by Easter. 
For those of us who don't have kids, the appeal of the Paas egg-dying kits is not particularly strong. The garish colors and little decals just don't really scream FUN! like they used to.
Naturally dyed eggs, though, are pretty and not toxic-looking. There are many websites that provide instructions and natural dye recipes. I found mine in The New York Times a few years ago, and reproduce my adaptions here. The pictures on this post are not mine, but come from several sources (see bottom of post for attributions and links). I recommend visiting the sites for more information if you like a particular egg color or pattern.
Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs
Serves: Anyone who likes hard-boiled eggs
Kitchen Needs: A stove or hotplate, and an old pot
Place a dozen eggs in a large pot, cover with water and 2 tablespoons white vinegar. Bring eggs to a boil, then add coloring agent listed below. You may also cook the eggs in the dye. Leave in dye over night for deep colors. Another suggestion is to dip eggs in vinegar immediately prior to putting in dye. This supposedly makes the colors "take" more readily.
Pink: add 1 lb. chopped beets, simmer for 30 min.
Blue: add 1/2 head of red cabbage or 2 cups frozen and mushed blueberries, simmer for 30 min.
Yellow: add 3 T. tumeric, simmer 15-30 min.
Green: Simmer as for yellow, then soak in cabbage solution for 30 minutes. Spinach leaves (or collards??) are another option.
Lavender: Simmer in beet solution, then cool in cabbage.
Mahogany: Simmer in yellow onion skins, let sit overnight.
Dual tones: Dye egg a pale color, let cool and dry, then dip in another color.
Texture: Dust with sea salt when wet. Wrap onion skins around eggs for mottled effect. Polish eggs when dry with a bit of vegetable oil for shine.
Images are courtesy of the following sites, all of which feature great recipes and techniques for naturally dying eggs: eggs from the American Egg Board, lighter colors from eco-friendly Mother Earth, a fiber artist's eggs in a bed of dyed wool, a Watsonville, CA, farmer's beautiful eggs, and a craftsperson who gets questions every year about her gorgeous eggs.
5 comments:
Wow!!! We don't dye easter eggs in our house but those are amazingly beautiful! Thanks for sharing!
Those eggs are stunning! Very Wabi Sabi.
Thanks! I like them, too, although I'd probably call *not* decorating eggs (and thereby increasing the clutter of seasonal decorations) more wabi-sabi, Kathryn!
That sounds like so much fun! I'll have to try it next year.
I tried the onion skins and beets a few years ago and they were very pretty. But now, with a five and seven year old in tow, they want bright colors, which we still didn't actually get because we used food coloring since the store was out of egg coloring kits. I guess everyone DID color them weeks ago!
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