Natural Egg Dyes
This spring, instead of artificial dyes, take advantage of nature's own colors to create beautiful decorative eggs using natural ingredients from your own pantry. Have fun double dipping and mixing colors. Nature is full of surprises!
The Set-up
Dyeing eggs with natural colorants combines the experimentation of science with the visual beauty of art. It's an enjoyable process, but be forewarned: it is not a simple, quick task. We can guarantee that you will make a lovely mess along with some lovely eggs.
Methods of Dyeing
There are two ways to dye eggs: hot and cold. While both methods rely on heat to draw out the colors within natural ingredients, the methods differ when it comes to setting the dye. For this reason, if you wish to eat your colored eggs, you must use the cold-dipping process. Also, if you want to apply multiple colors to a single egg, cold-dipping is the way to go. Though hot-dyed eggs can result in more intense colors, they are purely decorative and not for eating. Before boiling, always wash your uncooked eggs in mild soapy water to remove dirt or oil that might adversely affect the dye.
Cold-Dipping Method
Boil your eggs separately. For the dye, in general, use four cups of chopped fruit or vegetable (or one tablespoon spice) to four cups of water. Add two tablespoons of vinegar. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 to 30 minutes. Strain the dye and allow to cool. Then dip the eggs for five to ten minutes, until the egg has reached the desired color, then dry on paper towels. This produces subtle, translucent shades. It may create uneven coloring unless the eggs are rotated vigilantly. Remember to keep eggs refrigerated if you plan to eat later.
Hot Boiling Method
Boil your coloring ingredients and eggs simultaneously. The heat allows the dye to saturate the shells, resulting in more intense color. In general, use four cups of chopped fruit or vegetable (or one tablespoon spice) to four cups of water and two tablespoons vinegar. Place all ingredients along with eggs in a pot; bring to a rolling boil, and reduce to a simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Rinse with lukewarm water. Hot-dyed eggs are purely decorative and not for eating.
Play With Your Colors
Dyeing eggs is not an exact science. If the color of your dye isn't precisely what you were looking for, add more ingredients and continue to boil.. Keep in mind that the color in your bowl of dye will be darker than the color the egg will become. If the color on your egg isn't as deep as you like, try dipping into another color as a top coat. Or, , you can refrigerate the eggs in dye for several hours or even overnight to obtain a deeper color. Once you are satisfied with your colored egg, allow it to completely dry and then rub all over with vegetable oil for a nice decorative sheen.
Coloring Fun
Here are some natural ingredient suggestions to get you started. Feel free to use fresh or frozen vegetables, as the result will be similar. Also, be sure to experiment and see what colors you can create and have fun! Just remember, wear protective gloves to prevent dyeing your fingers and cover your work area well.
Pink/Red--> Cranberries (or cranberry juice), fresh beets, raspberries, pickled beet or red cabbage juice, red onion skins, radishes
Orange--> Yellow onion skins, paprika
Gold--> 3 TB turmeric
Light green--> Spinach leaves
Pale Yellow--> Orange or lemon peels, carrots, golden delicious apple peels, celery seed
Lavender or Blue--> Red cabbage, blueberries, blackberries, purple or red grape juice
Purple--> Hibiscus tea
Green--> Dye gold or yellow and then in blue; dry between colors
Beige/Brown--> Coffee, tea, walnuts, dill seeds
Brownish--> Orange Chili powder, ground cumin
Easter is one of those holidays that just passes me by now. I used to love dyeing the eggs.
Knock someone up, then you get to play Easter Bunny.
Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.
Quote from: jessie on March 16, 2005, 09:04:17 PM
Knock someone up, then you get to play Easter Bunny.
Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.
That would require physical contact. DUH
Quote from: Beef on March 16, 2005, 09:06:14 PM
Quote from: jessie on March 16, 2005, 09:04:17 PM
Knock someone up, then you get to play Easter Bunny.
Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.
That would require physical contact. DUH
*raises hand* Well, I'd be willing if, uh, you know... I mean, um... oh nevermind. :-[
Quote from: dazie on March 16, 2005, 09:07:14 PM
Quote from: Beef on March 16, 2005, 09:06:14 PM
Quote from: jessie on March 16, 2005, 09:04:17 PM
Knock someone up, then you get to play Easter Bunny.
Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.
That would require physical contact. DUH
*raises hand* Well, I'd be willing if, uh, you know... I mean, um... oh nevermind. :-[
Ok so there's that offer.
How about this one:
You, me, and a turkey baster.
Funny you should mention a turkey baster. I once gave one with a tube of KY to a friend as a gift sex toy.
Quote from: Beef on March 16, 2005, 09:10:17 PM
Funny you should mention a turkey baster. I once gave one with a tube of KY to a friend as a gift sex toy.
It was empty, right?
Quote from: jessie on March 16, 2005, 09:12:59 PM
Quote from: Beef on March 16, 2005, 09:10:17 PM
Funny you should mention a turkey baster. I once gave one with a tube of KY to a friend as a gift sex toy.
It was empty, right?
Yup. Hopefully not later that night.
Quote from: Beef on March 16, 2005, 09:15:45 PM
Quote from: jessie on March 16, 2005, 09:12:59 PM
Quote from: Beef on March 16, 2005, 09:10:17 PM
Funny you should mention a turkey baster. I once gave one with a tube of KY to a friend as a gift sex toy.
It was empty, right?
Yup. Hopefully not later that night.
We really brought this nice family oriented thread right into the slums, didn't we?
I'm proud of us.
Nice signature ;)
Quote from: jessie on March 16, 2005, 09:09:23 PM
Quote from: dazie on March 16, 2005, 09:07:14 PM
Quote from: Beef on March 16, 2005, 09:06:14 PM
Quote from: jessie on March 16, 2005, 09:04:17 PM
Knock someone up, then you get to play Easter Bunny.
Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.
That would require physical contact. DUH
*raises hand* Well, I'd be willing if, uh, you know... I mean, um... oh nevermind. :-[
Ok so there's that offer.
How about this one:
You, me, and a turkey baster.
Thanks for the offer Jess, but I'm fixed. I was just hitting on Beef, trying to get him to "knock me up" wink wink so that I could take advantage of his fabulous wealth.
My wealth?!
Quote from: Beef on March 16, 2005, 09:54:11 PM
My wealth?!
Oh sorry- I meant your mad animation skills.
No. I meant your "manhood."
Nah. The skills.
Well poot. Ursus went and bought egg dyes before I told him I wanted to do all this.
DAMN YOU PAAZ! *shakes fish* {{{{ ><>}}}} <-- that's a shaking fish.
Quote from: dazie on March 19, 2005, 03:53:30 PM
Well poot. Ursus went and bought egg dyes before I told him I wanted to do all this.
DAMN YOU PAAZ! *shakes fish* {{{{ ><>}}}} <-- that's a shaking fish.
Do them both! That way you can see which method colors them better.
OK- so it's not entirely natural, but this looks like a cool way to dye eggs too.
http://tinyurl.com/3ymvqs
I :heart: Martha.
Quote from: dazie on March 14, 2008, 07:04:31 PM
OK- so it's not entirely natural, but this looks like a cool way to dye eggs too.
http://tinyurl.com/3ymvqs
I :heart: Martha.
Did you try the tie-dye? Did Kate ever make the tie skirt?
Quote from: Gamplayerx on May 27, 2008, 06:26:29 PM
Quote from: dazie on March 14, 2008, 07:04:31 PM
OK- so it's not entirely natural, but this looks like a cool way to dye eggs too.
http://tinyurl.com/3ymvqs
I :heart: Martha.
Did you try the tie-dye? Did Kate ever make the tie skirt?
Oh hell no.
And no on the skirt too. We still have ties laying all over the place. I did make Tim's prom vest though, and his date's lei, so I figure I'm ahead of the game.
HOLY CRAP THIS THREAD IS OLD!