For this suburban Homesteader this means dyeing your Easter Eggs with whatever you’ve got in the house. Plus this means you can actually eat them without worrying about ‘extra’ chemicals.
Natural dyed Easter eggs have a simple yet stunning charm, plus I think the process is much more manageable for parents with younger kids…
I know we’re all busy but if you can chop a few veggies and simmer them while boiling the eggs you’ve got this!
Another great part is that the kids drop the eggs in the liquid dye containers (old yogurt cup, mason jars, what you have) and then wait to see their creations until the morning!
Natural Dye Basics
These natural dyes take at minimum 3 hours to really set in, and we let ours soak overnight. So, the ‘hands-on’ time for kids is more in the prep of the food items.
I love introducing the idea that food can be used for crafting as well as nutrition with my kids. My boys also love guessing which will be the most blue, dark, beautiful etc. I appreciate the added layer of anticipation this process invites.
That being said – there are obviously as many ways to do this as there are chickens who lay all those eggs, so YOU DO YOU!
PS: All chickens also appreciate the over cooked cabbage, beet peelings and blueberry mash!
If you happen to have a LOT of eggs coming in from your chickens, try making my Homestead Strata recipe!
My Favorite Fruits and Vegetables for Easter Egg Dyeing
(*depicts color of processed egg)
Yellow Onion Skins:
*RUSSET RED
I had saved these for a few weeks, but you may have enough for a small batch just laying in the bottom of your veg bin (or is that just me?) Boil in water 40 minutes to release the color
Lavender Flowers:
*OLIVE
I usually have some older and not very fragrant bunches of dried lavender flowers (and leaves and stems) around. Rinse them off, crumble into a pot and boil for 30 minutes.
Red Cabbage:
*EASTER BLUE
I used the wilted outer leaves plus a few more, 6 or 7 leaves in all and chopped them randomly to help them release their beautiful colors. Boil for 30 minutes.
Beets:
*DARK RED
I also usually have a few remaining beets from last fall’s gardens in the bottom of my veg drawer. These slightly shriveled beets are perfect for taking thick peelings off of to use for dyeing (and I still save the beets to roast) Boil for 30 minutes.
Grape:
*BLUE/GRAY
I usually forage some wild grapes every Fall and freeze the extra juice. So I’ll add some water to the juice I had already boiled to thin it out to have enough to cover the eggs. *This could work well with purchased juices too!
Blueberry:
*BRIGHT BLUE
I used a half cup of frozen blueberries and 1 cup of water. Not the most cost effective food use, but wow were these eggs turned vibrant and a fun compliment color to the red cabbage. I mashed and boiled for 5 minutes.
Turmeric:
*YELLOW
I use powder so no need to simmer, just mix with water and vinegar before dyeing the eggs.
Egg Dyeing Process
For me part of the beauty of this process is the anticipation it builds by just leaving the eggs in the dye overnight- my kids are used to this way now, so they know what to expect- but if explained to kids as both a science experiment and a way to wake up to a surprise, you really can’t go wrong!
You basically chop up veggies or mash fruit, boil to extract to colors, cool and strain.
Hard Boil the eggs and cool.
Then get into a container that works for submerging however many eggs you want to dye. Once in the container, right before you’re going to dip the eggs, add 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar per cup of liquid. Then let the kids dunk the eggs and wait!
One difference between this and the commercial dye kits is the colors can rub off more easily, so be gentle. Also I find the beet dye usually oxidizes to brown within a day, so I added a bit of cherry juice this time (remember just use what you’ve got!) to help it hold the red. I also recommend polishing with a little olive oil once *completely* dry.
So we leave our sit/soak overnight – and the kids love scooping them out in the morning – we let them air dry and then GENTLY rub them with olive oil. Project done. Kids feel like artists. I like that I didn’t buy anything extra.
Always Experimenting
I finally got to the point of laying pretty flowers and leaves onto these before dyeing and I loved it. I ended up boiling the eggs with the imprints tied on in the onion solution (with vinegar). I followed THESE basic instructions and ended up happy for my first attempt. I can’t wait to try again next year!
Bottom Line: we love making homemade Easter eggs!
We’ve come a long way since the first time I tried dyeing eggs without the fake colors and extra plastic + packaging.
But ever since that first year, we’ve been hooked!
Here’s another idea with a match up of natural dyes used to finished colors from this year.
These colors are from what you get when left overnight. Let me know if you give this a try, I love seeing everyone’s photos!!
There’s something so fun and even empowering in using regular household things to create art. Plus – We will be able to eat the hard boiled eggs without worry of added toxic dyes.
Happy Spring and Enjoy the return of all the eggs!
Dig In, Michelle
