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AmazingMoms Editor


Last Updated: 4/28/2009

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Gender: Female
Status: Married
Age: 46
Sign: Taurus

Country: US
Signup Date: 3/27/2009
April 7, 2009 - Tuesday 

Category: Life
Over the years my family has had a lot of fun using a variety of egg decorating methods – from artistic to silly each Easter we all get creative and I have no intention of stopping no matter how old my kids get!
Here are some of our favorite decorating methods, tips and links to help you create your own traditions.

Answers to common egg decorating questions:
I don’t want my young children messing around with dye, what can I do instead?
You have a several options here. First, you can give your little ones hard boiled eggs to decorate with washable markers and stickers. It’s a little messy but much easier to cleanup.
Or you can provide plastic Easter eggs and stickers – it’s still fun for little ones!
You can also try decorating with kid-safe water color paints and cottons swabs instead of paint brushes. I did this in the classroom and the kids loved it!
And lastly a good old standby by for little hands – coloring with crayons. The eggs have to be very clean and dry for this work -

How do I prepare the eggs without cracking?
Before decorating your eggs, you need to hard-boil them. Place the eggs in a large saucepan. Add cold water; enough to completely cover the eggs. Place on medium-high heat and bring water to a gentle boil. Reduce heat and simmer eggs for 9 minutes.  Remove from heat and fill with cold water. The eggs must be completely cool and dry, to decorate successfully.

How to I wash egg dye from my kid’s hands?
First let me say that I love seeing little rainbow hands in church on Easter Sunday morning. That being said, I’ve not found a great solution for dye removal. Lots of washing and a soap like LAVA brand, but I think that’s too harsh.  Eventually, after a few baths, the dye comes off. Your kid’s hands will not be permanently purple – clothing and furniture is another story.
Use smocks and good judgment!

Are the eggs safe to eat after dyeing?
My family has always eaten our eggs - with the exception of my husband who runs in the other direction when hardboiled egg is in the room – Ha!
Do not leave your eggs out of the refrigerator for long and use food safe dyeing methods. If the eggs are cracked – in the trash they go.
This site has more egg safety information >>

Now for the fun part...
Natural Easter Egg Dye – My favorite method
 
Use the color chart below to create all natural tones. Combine the dye source with 1/2 Tablespoon of vinegar and some cold water in a saucepan. Add raw eggs (make sure there's enough water to cover the eggs) and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 to 15 minutes. The longer you simmer, the darker the color will be, but simmer at least 8 minutes so that the eggs cook thoroughly.
Color chart:
Brown - the outer layers of onions, tea or coffee
Yellow - turmeric or saffron
Red - cranberries
Purple - beets, purple onion skin
Green - spinach
Blue - blueberries

Find my complete list of egg decorating methods on AmazingMoms.com >>

Until next time...
Keep life fun and festive!
Kit
9:18 PM
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