We always loved dyeing Easter eggs as kids, so when Curious.com asked us to make a video for the Curious 52 Week Challenge, we decided to dye eggs! The lesson turned out really fun and it’s free, so check it out here.
And speaking of fun, the Curious 52 Week Challenge is awesome! You learn one new thing a week with their free lessons and not only do you get to do things like bake a pie, dance the salsa, and make a duct tape wallet, you get to win prizes–even a year of free learning! We are participating and you can see how we are doing by following us on Twitter where we are @ONeilSisters
How To Dye and Decorate Easter Eggs
Materials
Hard-boiled eggs
Food coloring: red, yellow, green, blue
White vinegar
Water
Crayons
Petroleum jelly (Vaseline)
Tools
Cups for dye, one for each color
Wire egg-dipper, bacon tongs, or pasta fork
Measuring cup
Tablespoon
Craft sticks or Popsicle sticks
Kitchen timer
Bottle caps
Plastic tablecloth
Paper towels
Steps
1. To make the dye, pour ½ cup room-temperature water and 3 tablespoons vinegar into a cup. Add 20 drops of red food coloring and stir with a Popsicle stick. Repeat to make yellow, green, and blue dyes, using a new cup and Popsicle stick for each color.
2. To mix a new color, like orange, follow the recipe in step 1 but use 10 drops of red food coloring and 10 drops of yellow food coloring. Stir with a Popsicle stick.
3. To dye the eggs, place a cooled, hard-boiled egg into one of the dyes using tongs (or any other egg dipper tool). Leave the egg in the dye for 1-2 minutes to get a light color or 3 minutes to get a more vibrant color. Turn the egg with the Popsicle stick occasionally so the egg dyes evenly. Remove the egg with the tongs and place it on a bottle cap (face the open end of the bottle cap up). Let the egg dry.
4. To decorate the eggs using crayon resist, draw all over a white, yellow, or other light-colored egg with a crayon, making swirls, dots, stripes, or zigzags. (Be careful not to press so hard that you crack your egg!) Place the egg in a different color dye (use a darker color for the second dye bath for best results.) Leave the egg in the dye for 2 minutes, then remove from the dye and place on a bottle cap to dry.
5. To polish the eggs, smear petroleum jelly all over the surface. Gently buff the egg with a paper towel until the crayon wipes away and your design shows through. Use this same technique to polish solid-colored eggs.
Egg-cellent Colors
Vinegar in the dye will give you bright colors. For more traditional colors use lemon juice instead. Or for very light pastels, try adding the food coloring to just plain water.
How To Hard Boil Eggs
1. Place eggs in a saucepan or pot. Cover the eggs with water and heat until the water boils.
2. Turn off the heat, cover the pan with a lid, and let sit for 15 minutes.
3. Cool the eggs by running them under cold water. Dry the eggs. (Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.)
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