Easter Egg Dying
What You Will Need:
Nylon stockings/socks
String
Eggs (You can use blown eggs or raw eggs)
Flowers
Plants For Dye
red cabbage (1/2 head)
Brown onion skins (from 3 onions)
Powdered turmeric (about two tablespoons)
Powdered Paprika
White vinegar
Easter is one of my favourite times of the year to crack open my craft box and get creative. Egg dyeing is a fun, easy and quick DIY that any age can participate in.
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Getting Started:
You will need a few inexpensive items to construct your floral eggs, such as new nylon socks/stockings (if using the stockings, they will need to be cut down to a suitable size), string, a few veggies if you don’t have them growing in the garden and eggs. Then the rest of the tools required can be found in your very own garden! Collecting different flowers with varying shapes will give the best results, but remember to look for smaller blooms as they will give better results. The individual blooms of Geraniums, Crocus, Sweetpeas, Cherry Blossoms, Daisies, or even the Sweetpea and herbs’ foliage can create some beautiful patterns. Alternatively, if you do not have anything suitable, florists or supermarkets will be sure to have some flowers that will work.
Take the flower and position it onto the surface of the egg. A handy tip is to very lightly wet the flower’s petals as this acts similar to glue, making it easier to place the flower without it moving.
Then, take the nylon sock, wrap the egg and pull tight until the flower is flat against the eggs’ surface. Then tie with string.
Next, grab one of your natural dye ingredients; red cabbage will give the most beautiful blue dye colouring. In comparison, the turmeric, brown onion and paprika will give more rusty, golden to red tones. For this DIY, I will be using red cabbage. Take a few of the leaves and roughly chop them, and place into a saucepan. Place the eggs deep into the saucepan, making sure the red cabbage leaves cover them. Fill with water.
Cover the saucepan with a lid and bring to a boil for a few minutes. Turn off the heat and allow it to cool. The longer the eggs are left to soak in the water, the better the colouring will be. Once the water has cooled, the eggs can be removed, but for the best results, place the saucepan with all the ingredients into the fridge for 2-4 hours.
Remove the saucepan from the fridge, taking the eggs, cut the nylon socks/stockings off. Gently remove flowers, and you will be left with the final result.