How to Make Easter Egg Dye Brighter

Dyeing Easter eggs can feel frustrating when the finished eggs turn out looking pastel instead of brightly colored. Make Easter egg dye brighter so that you can make the most of this festive spring activity. Just wear an old T-shirt and cover your table -- egg dye stains easily.

To create vibrantly colorful Easter eggs, gather together egg dye tablets or drops, white vinegar, multiple cups or containers to hold the dye solution, a spoon or egg holder and hard boiled eggs. When choosing your eggs, use white eggs instead of brown because the dye becomes muted or darkened against brown egg shells.

While using egg dye tablets in plain water makes a dye that colors your eggs, creates more of a pastel tint rather than a bright color. You can make a brighter egg dye solution by dissolving the egg dye tablets into distilled white vinegar instead. Pour one cup of vinegar into a container with one egg dye tablet. Stir the solution with a spoon to dissolve the tablet completely before use. The distilled white vinegar causes the dye to adhere to the egg shell more readily.

To dye eggs brighter colors, insert each egg into the dye solution of your choice, but instead of removing the egg right away, allow it to sit in the dye solution for about 10 minutes. This creates a very vibrant, richly colored egg. Turn the egg periodically if the solution does not completely cover the egg inside of the container.

Once you dye the eggs using a single color, re-dye the eggs by dipping them into other colors. For example, if you created a bright pink egg, dip half of the egg into purple dye to create bi-colored eggs.

Instead of throwing out the egg cartons that your eggs came in, save them to use as handy drying racks for the dyed Easter eggs. Simply place the dyed eggs into the individual compartments to dry. Once you fill the entire carton, you can store the dyed eggs in your refrigerator until you want to hide them for an Easter-egg hunt, Easter table decor or just eat them.