OK, I KNOW it is not at all related to the ACTUAL reason we celebrate Easter, but I LOVE decorating Easter Eggs each year. This year are a bit tight with money, and I have been working hard all week on reading, writing and math with the kids in school, so I thought it was time for a little science!
So, out came the natural dyes! We tried Red Cabbage, Oranges Peels (I had even made myself fresh OJ in the morning so I had peels in the trash just waiting for us!), Spinach and Tea.
We started the dyes all boiling (and next time I should remember to take pictures BEFORE the pots start steaming...) then went to work decorating.
First we used rubber bands to make stripes and lines on some of our eggs.
Then we used flowers and leaves to make interesting imprints. We used sections of old pantyhose to tie hold the natural stamps in place.
This flower art was MUCH harder than any of the how tos I read said it would be, but I think the end product is pretty cool. (I know, this picture is out of order, but I wanted to show you what the heck I was talking about!)
Next came the dying part. Nathaniel could have stood there and watched them "turn colors" all night if I had let him! Which was cracking me up, since you really could NOT see anything, but he had fun. The directions I read said to let them soak for 20 minutes to a half an hour, but I didn't like the depth of color after that short of time, so we just let them set all night in the dyes!
These are the ones done in Orange Peels... very subtle coloring.
These were done in the Spinach. I especially liked where the flowers and leaves gave different dimensions of color on these eggs.
These were the ones dyed in Red Cabbage.... interesting how they came out a blue color hu?
And these were the Tea Dyed eggs. The truest color compared to food used I think :)
Over all a fun and interesting project for the kids to learn from.
I did notice that the Easter Bunny needed to be more careful when hiding these eggs... they sure did blend in well to the plants and grasses in the yard!
What silly or fun traditions do you like to do with your family?
3 comments:
That is so fun! I hate using fake dyes, as eggs are pourous, so this is an awesome idea!
I love the way your eggs turned out. I bookmarked a similar natural vegetable dying technique in hopes that I will remember to do it with the kids next year. Hope you had a happy Easter Gretchen!
We did this too. I teach art at my local Christian school. We used beet juice (great bright pink eggs!), grape juice (lavender gray) and tumeric (bright yellow!)
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