I'm not really very religious and I don't have any kids so the Easter bunny stopped visiting me long ago. But, when I was a child I also insisted on putting blue food coloring in my milk for an entire week, so you know I'm not missing a chance to dye an Easter egg.
There are lots of ways to decorate eggs. Entire pinterest boards of modern techniques. But really, I'm a purist. I want to actually eat the eggs so spraying them with chalkboard paint or boiling them in onion skins doesn't work for me. Anything that makes them toxic or skunky tasting is out. That leaves food coloring. Here are some tips for making great looking eggs from traditional dye.
1. Forget the store bought dye.
The most important step. This is what separates the men from the boys. Remember those kits you got as a kid? Junk them. The range of colors were so limited and the results were wimpy. It is really easy to make your own egg dye with just food coloring. I got a Wilton gel multi-pack from a big box craft store and it has so many more colors, like teal, copper, and burgundy. Mix a few teaspoons of white vinegar with a cup or so of water then add the color. Seriously, add a lot of color. I like my eggs vibrant. Side note: this was my third year with these colors and they were sort of dried out. They still worked but they gave me a bit of a speckly result, which was still cool, but newer colors will turn out smoother.
2. Pick your vessels.
Obviously the easiest thing to dye eggs in is mason jars. First, because you know you have a million of them, you hipster. And secondly, because the clear glass lets you see your colors more easily. However, smaller things like prep bowls or yogurt cups can be a great way to dye only part of your egg. I laid the one above in a half filled 4oz jar and occasionally gave it a little turn to create a cool pattern.
 |
| Instagrams of Easter Eggs Past |
3. Mix a lot of colors and prepare to be patient.
I usually mix about 10-15 cups of dyes. That might sound like overkill but it gives you the chance to be creative with colors and shades. I mean, you don't have to do that many, but just know you can if you want. To get a truly vibrant color you're going to need to let your eggs process for a long time. In fact, I always pick one egg at the beginning to soak the entire time in a separate cup. Seriously, I let it go for like an hour plus (jiggle it every so often to make sure it dyes evenly) and it turns out great. The super dark teal egg above went the distance last year and it was my favorite.
 |
| Left: With the sticker. Right: After dying. |
4. Gather up your extras.
You can use extra things to make patterns on your eggs. Write on them with crayon before dipping for a relief dying effect. Wrap them with rubber bands for stripes. Or cut little vinyl shapes like we did, just make sure to keep your shapes small or they won't lay flat on your egg surface.Put them on before you dip your egg in the color, then peel the decal off and leave plain for a white shape, or dip again for a colored print.
I really wanted a swiss cross Easter egg, so I cut a little plus sign decal. While I was trying to get the arms straight it hit me that a cricut cutter would be the best thing in the world for this, so if you own one, get to it.
5. Dry and store them.
This may seem trivial, but once you take your eggs out of the dye lay them on a paper towel to dry before putting them back in the carton. Otherwise dye from your wet egg will pool in the carton and totally ruin your beautiful work, which would be really annoying. And be sure to take eggs out of the dye with a spoon or dipper, unless you really like stained fingers.
6. Take lots of pictures. Devil and eat them.
These steps are probably the most important
And hey, my boyfriend made this color-themed playlist, so you don't have to dye your eggs in stoic silence anymore.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment