Easter Egg Coloring Techniques
Dying colorful eggs is a creative part of celebrating Easter, and nearly everyone is familiar with the boxed dye sets that are available in grocery and department stores. It's easy to make bright solid-colored eggs using these kits, but there are many other options for making even more spectacular colored eggs. Many of these techniques are straightforward enough that even beginners can achieve fantastic results. Does this Spark an idea?
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Marbled Eggs
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Marbled eggs look sophisticated but are simple to accomplish -- just add a tablespoon of cooking oil to each cup of the packaged dye. Stir the dye/oil combination before adding each egg. Submerge each egg completely in the dye using a spoon. When you have your desired color intensity, remove it out and pat it dry on a paper towel. The dye will not adhere to the parts of the shell that were covered with oil, but will stick in a swirly marbled pattern everywhere else. Try dipping the egg into two or three different dyes, drying well between colors.
Stone Eggs
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Wrap the eggs tightly in gauze, cheesecloth or nylon (such as pantyhose) before you dye them. When the dye is dry, unwrap the eggs to reveal a stone-like textured look. If you like, give the color more depth by wetting the fabric with a dark-colored dye, then wrapping the egg and dipping it into a lighter dye. Give stone eggs a more polished look by buffing them with a little cooking oil once they're dry.
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Crayon Eggs
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Use crayons to draw directly onto the shells of freshly boiled eggs. The heat of the egg will melt the wax in the crayon, enabling you to leave create swirls of color on the shell. Put a couple of tablespoonsfuls of vinegar in the water used to boil the eggs, and when they've finished cooking take them out of the hot water one at a time as you use them so they'll remain hot. Hold the hot eggs in a folded napkin or paper towel as you color them; supervise young children carefully.
Tissue Eggs
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Cut or tear new, brightly-colored tissue paper into 2-inch squares. Dampen an egg with water and lay the tissue paper squares on the shell. Spray the egg lightly with water if the paper doesn't become saturated and set aside to dry. When the water dries the tissue paper will come off, but the dye in the paper will remain on the shell. Experiment with different looks by overlapping different colors of tissue paper or arranging the squares in various patterns.
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References
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