Last week-end my girls and I tried many different ways color and decorate Easter eggs. Some worked out well and some of our eggs ended up in the trash. Before I get to the different coloring techniques we used, I'll start with how I prepared our eggs. There are two different ways to prepare your eggs, blown eggs and hard boiled eggs. If you want to be able to keep your eggs for awhile, you need to empty the insides of your eggs. To do this, poke a small hole at the top and at the bottom of your egg and blow out the insides, (just try not to think about where the egg has been). You might want to keep the eggs for decoration or you might want to keep that first egg your kid decorates.
If you don't want to keep them, hard boiled eggs are the way to go. They are easier and you can eat them afterwards. First, place your eggs in cold water, making sure there is at least an inch of water above your eggs. Add a tablespoon of vinegar, this is supposed to help the coloring stick better to your eggs. Bring your eggs to a boil, letting them boil for a few minutes, then remove them from the burner and let them set for 15 to 20 minutes. Drain the water and rinse with cold water. Now they are ready to go. As long as they are refrigerated after you're done, you can eat them within 5 days.
Coloring your Easter Eggs
Now comes the fun part. There are so many different things you can use when decorating your eggs. You can also buy your dye or make your own. To make your own dye all you will need is food coloring, white vinegar and water. Mix 1 TB of food coloring, 1 tsp of white vinegar and a cup of water (or enough to cover your egg). If you want your colors bolder, use food coloring paste. Now let's get to the decorating...
Imprinting Designs of your Eggs
Place stickers, tape, rubber bands or rubber cement on your egg, place the egg in the dye, and then after your egg is dry, take off whatever you used to make your design. Make sure your dye is completely dry or this won't work well. When using stickers, the plastic make the best designs (regular ones are too hard to get off and the dye can soak through them).
You can also color on your egg with a clear or white crayon and whatever you color will remain white after your egg is dyed. I would have to say that the rubber cement was the most fun. I also enjoyed the rubber bands, but be very careful that your egg is completely dry before you remove the rubber bands or your design won't turn out well.
Mix a ¼ of cup of water to a ¼ of cup of glue in one container. In a plastic bag (sandwich size zip lock works great), add some glitter. After your egg is colored, roll your egg in your glue mixture, shake dry and then drop in your glitter. Shake your egg around in the glitter, until it is fully covered. Then remove and set out to dry.
These eggs were my favorite! You can transfer designs that are on silk onto your Easter eggs. You will need:
- silk ties or anything that is pure silk
- white cloth (an old T-Shirt or sheet works well)
- eggs
- rubber bands or twist ties
- enamel or glass pot
- vegetable oil
- white vinegar
First, cut up your silk and white cloth into pieces that will be able to fit completely around your egg. It is very important that you are using %100 silk and the bolder colors and designs that you use, the better. You can find silk ties at most thrift stores for about a buck.
Next, wrap your silk tightly around your egg, making sure the printed side is facing the egg. Then add your cloth over the silk and secure your fabric with a rubber band or twist ties.
Place all your eggs into a glass or enamel pot and cover with cold water. It is very important that you don't use a metal pot or they won't work. Add 3 tablespoons of vinegar. Bring your water to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Let your eggs simmer for a half an hour and drain your water. Take your eggs out and let them cool. Now they are ready to be unwrapped and your design will be revealed. This is the fun part.
To shine up your eggs, rub a little vegetable oil on your eggs using a paper towel.
This technique is not as easy as it sounds, or at least it wasn't for me. First fill your cup up with enough water to cover your egg and then add your dye, a tablespoon of oil and a teaspoon of vinegar. Stir your mixture up quickly and then drop in your egg. Pull out your egg immediately and dry with a paper towel. Where the oil first hits the egg won't get colored as much as the rest of the egg, so that is why it is very important that your mixture is well mixed up right before you put your egg in. Experiment with this. I found it best if you dunk just a part of the egg, then wiped it dry and then continued this until your egg is fully colored.
Sponge Painting
This is a fairly simple idea. Color your egg and then use a sponge to make a speckled design on your eggs. The rougher your sponge is the better. You can also find mini sponges that are different shapes to use on your Easter eggs.
Spray painting is not a great project for younger kids, but can be fun for adults. Spray an area of your egg, let it dry and using a different color spray another area. If you are looking to make a design, stencils work well with this method. Just be careful not to spray too much paint at one time, to avoid dripping.
Fill your eggs with confetti or wax and a wick. For both of these eggs, you will need to color raw eggs, then make a hole in the top of the egg and empty out the insides of your egg. For confetti eggs, the hole should be the size of a quarter or a little smaller. After you empty your eggs, wash out well and let dry. It is very important that your egg is completely dry before you stuff it. When your eggs dry, fill with confetti and then cover your hole by gluing tissue paper over the hole. Now your work is ready to be crushed.
For candle eggs you will want your hole to be a little bigger. To prepare your wax to go into your eggs, you can use tealight candles or pieces of wax. Melt the wax in can, by heating up the can in a boiling pot of water. Now, pour you wax into the egg shell and add your wic. When adding your wics, tie the top end onto a toothpick and let the toothpick lay across the egg shell. When the wax dries, there will be a dip in the middle. You can now fill it with some more wax.
Splatter Paint your Eggs
Using an old tooth brush splatter paint your eggs. Dip the tooth brush lightly in some paint, and use your finger to splatter the paint all over your eggs. This is best done with disposable gloves on and not with younger kids (unless you want your table and floor painted also).
No Paint
If you want to avoid the dye for young children, just get out the crayons and stickers.
Turn your eggs into animals. This is a great project for younger kids. Dye your eggs and then add foam, googly eggs, pipe cleaner, pom poms or whatever else to make your perfect animal.
Nylons
This is a technique that I never got to, but sounded fairly interesting. You can use nylons to help create designs on your eggs. Stick a leaf onto your egg and then stick your egg into the nylon and twist the nylon tight on both sides of the egg. Dunk your egg into the dye for a minute and then dry off with a paper towel. After your egg is completely dry, undo your nylons and your will see an imprint of your leaf on your egg.
Hope you enjoy these decorating ideas this Easter. For displaying your blown eggs, you can add ribbon through the holes and hang them around your home. You can also use polyurethane to give them an add gloss.