handmade // natural dye easter eggs

there are a few things parenting books out there don't tell you: one of them being how fun and exciting it is to revisit childhood memories and start new traditions with your little ones.   

i've always loved dying easter eggs, going on hunts for coins and jelly beans, and waking up to little surprises on easter morning.  but last year around this time, no colored eggs were made, no easter baskets were thoughtfully prepared, nor was their any, and i mean any, cadbury eggs anywhere.  no bueno.  i hate to admit this, but it got easy to skim over and deglamorize the holidays when it was just the two of us.  we celebrated a little i suppose, but time usually got the best of us, resulting in last minute thoughtless shopping, and pretty crappy holiday decor.  often times out of guilt, we declared it "just another day" and went on with our usual routine.  

let me tell you, things have changed regarding holidays and we love it so.  we love it because of baby girl!  having sweet stella in our lives has made the holidays around here much more enjoyable.  our home right now is proof of that.  :)  andrew and i have taken the time to introduce fun holiday kiddo things to miss stella, and have put effort into the always important details when creating memories for our family.  it really is about the details, you know?  sure, one could go to the store, get some syrupy {but pretty} food dye and have at it.  or, one could have fun picking out eclectic ingredients and making beautiful, one of a kind, healthy dyes together?  we opted for the later and made three stunning colors today for dye our eggs in for the very first time as a family this year.  i just love how they turned out and am happy to say, this is one tradition we will keep looking forward to year after year.  take a look at how to make these stunning easter eggs for yourself and your little ones! 

natural diy easter eggs:

as for your ingredients...

beets : rosy red 

curry powder + spinach : bright yellow 

red cabbage: turquoise blue

and eggs of course!  i used brown and white eggs.  either one will do, but the brown eggs will result in a deeper color. the eggs you see on this post are dyed with both.

To make: 

wash hard boiled eggs in warm water to remove any oily residue that can affect the color dyeing process and let cool.  there is no exact amount of each of the above ingredients to use.  i put a couple of handfuls of each of the bigger items, for the spices I just use a tablespoon or two.  you can let the water boil and add the stuff and just see how brightly colored the water is.  put the color stuff you choose in a saucepan and cover with water by about an inch.  it could end up being about 2 cups or so, depending on what item you use.

bring to a boil the water and the dye product you are going to use, then reduce heat to low and let simmer anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until you like the color you see in the water.  that's really all it comes down to, just get the water a color/shade you like and try it out.  add 1 tbsp of vinegar for each cup of the dye liquid.  this will help the dye absorb into the eggshell.

use a slotted spoon to put the eggs into the hot liquid.  the eggs will need to sit for quite a bit of time to get good color. you can take them out at anytime you like the shade they have reached.  i moved them into the refrigerator to cool and soak in more color.  this is kind of a trial and error process in terms of getting the color you want.  you can prepare the dye in advance so it's more kid friendly; that's what i plan on doing next year.  i hope you found this tutorial useful, and if you try it out let me know how it goes and what colors you made!