How To Make Natural Egg Dyes For Easter

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Natural egg dyes are a beautiful, natural and eco-friendly way to dye your Easter eggs this season! Using just a few simple ingredients found in your kitchen, you can make natural dyes that are every color of the rainbow and safe enough for the kids to use.

Not only will these natural materials create beautiful colors and earthy tones, but they’ll also add an extra layer of fun as you and your whole family experiment with different foods and techniques.

Natural Egg Dyes

When it comes to natural Easter egg dyes, the possibilities are almost endless. From a range of natural items such as onion skins and spices to natural juices and beets, you can create beautiful colors with natural materials.

You can probably list a large selection of natural items in your kitchen that would stain your countertop, well these same items will most likely make good egg dye! We found it so exciting and interesting to see what color the eggs were going to turn out after they were dyed. Some will truly surprise you! Let’s dive into a few common natural dye options.

You can experiment with natural juices such as cranberry juice for pink eggs, grape juice for purple eggs, orange juice for vibrant yellow eggs and even coffee for brown eggs. Spices are great too like turmeric for yellow or red cabbage for blue.

Best Eggs For Dying

When it comes to natural Easter egg dyeing, there are two important elements for the best eggs for dying.

1. Fresh Eggs. Fresh eggs tend to take natural dyes better than older ones.
2. Hard Boiled Eggs. Hard-boiled eggs will keep their shape when dipped in natural dyes. You will be taking your chances if you color raw eggs. It would be terrible if one cracked in the dye jar.

Although white eggs will take the true color of the dye more than brown, blue or green eggs, I wouldn’t completely rule out eggs with a colored shell. These colored eggs may give you a different variation of dyed egg that the plain white egg can’t achieve! We even ended up dipping some of ours in multiple colors of dyes to get more of a variety of tones.

Plastic eggs are not a great option for natural egg dyes. They will take on a bit of the color, but not as well as a natural egg.

Regardless of which color of egg or natural dye you choose, make sure to have fun with the experimentation process! There is no right or wrong method when it comes to creating beautiful natural Easter egg dyes!

Natural Foods Used For Egg Dyes

There are countless types of ingredients that you can use to make your own vibrant, colorful egg dyes. Here are a few common types of natural foods that are sure to work as egg dyes.

1. Spices (e.g., turmeric, paprika, saffron) Depending on the spice you can range from vibrant yellows with Turmeric to soft reds with paprika.

2. Beets. These root vegetables produce gorgeous shades of pink and red.

3. Yellow and purple onion skins. Onions have natural hues with yellow onion skins ranging from pale yellow up to vibrant oranges and red onions giving beautiful deep reds.

4. Spinach leaves. Spinach produces a range of blues, greens, tans and greys.

5. Red cabbage. This type of cabbage yields gorgeous blues.

6. Tea bags and Coffee. Coffee grounds give mocha brown or taupe colored eggs while tea leaves provide golden tans up to deep burgundies.

7 . Natural juices (e.g., cranberry juice, grape juice, and orange juice) Lemon juice gives off bright yellows while cranberry juice produces lovely pinks and grape juice is great for purples.

8 . Carrots Tops. Carrot tops provide stunning greens.

9 . Fruits and Berries – (e.g., purple grapes, blueberries, blackberries) Fruits like blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries & even bananas can provide amazing colors ranging from light pinks up through brilliant purples.

10 . Nuts and seeds – (eg., walnuts, almonds, poppy seeds) Walnuts are great for producing dark browns while almonds offer lighter tan hues; poppy seeds give off deep blues & even mustard seeds yield lovely soft yellows.

9 Types of Egg Dyes

Creating beautiful and unique Easter eggs with natural dyes is a fun and eco-friendly way to celebrate the holiday. Each type will require a slightly different formula to make the best egg dye so let’s review those now.

Turmeric

Turmeric is an excellent natural dye option. This bright yellow spice is a popular option for dying eggs naturally as it produces vibrant shades of yellow and orange. Just be carful with handling turmeric dye, it will stain everything! My antique cutting boards are forever stained deep gold in places.

1. To use turmeric as a natural dye, simply boil 1/4 cup or 4 tablespoons of turmeric powder in four cups of water for about 10 minutes until it has reached a deep orange color.
2. Allow the mixture to cool before straining it through a cheesecloth or sieve and then add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar to help set the color.

Beets

These root vegetables produce gorgeous shades of pink, red and crimson when boiled down in the water to create an all-natural dye.

1. Start by boiling one cup of beets in 4 cups of liquid until they are soft, approximately 20 minutes. Strain off the beet juice liquid into the dye containers.
2. Then mix it with 1 teaspoon of white vinegar before dipping your eggs into the warm liquid.

Onions

Onions produce hues ranging from tans and pale yellows all the way up to vibrant oranges and deep reds depending on how long you boil them in water.

1. Start by adding skins from several onions into boiling water for 15-20 minutes until you reach your desired color before straining the mixture into another pot or mason jar.
2. Add 1-3 teaspoons of white vinegar to help set the dye onto your Easter eggs.

Spinach

Spinach is another popular vegetable used in creating egg dyes due to its range of blues, greens, tans, and greys that it can produce when boiled down in the water with some white vinegar added to help set the color onto your eggs.

1. Begin by adding 1 cup of spinach to three cups of water and bring to a boil. Simmer for at least 10 minutes. The longer this one boils the better and more vibrant it should become.
2. Add one to three tablespoons of vinegar to help set the dye.

Red or Purple Cabbage

This type of cabbage yields beautiful shade of blue eggs.

1. Add one cup of chopped red cabbage to four cups of water and begin to boil.
2. Simmer for 10-20 minutes until you reach your desired shade before straining off any solids and adding 1 teaspoon of white vinegar per cup of liquid used to help set the color onto your Easter eggs.

Coffee & Tea

Coffee grounds can be used to create mocha brown or taupe colored eggs while tea leaves can give you a range from muted golden tans up to deep burgundies depending on how strong you brew it before using it as an all-natural dye on your Easter eggs!

1. Place two to four tea bags or heaping scoops of coffee into 4 cups of boiling water. Simmer for at least 10 minutes before straining out any solids.
2. Add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar per cup (8 ounces) used as a base ingredient for each recipe as well as cold coffee or tea if desired for more subtle tones when dying your eggs this season!

Natural Juices

Lemon juice gives off bright yellows while cranberry juice produces lovely pinks and grape juice is great for purples, although these last two require more boiling time than other natural ingredients like turmeric or beets so plan accordingly when making these all-natural dyes!

Make sure that there’s enough liquid left after boiling so that you don’t have too concentrated a solution which may lead to unsightly whitespace around areas where no dye was able to reach during coloring!

1. Add 1-3 cups of fruit (peel included for citrus fruit) into 6 cups of hot water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for at least 30 minutes.
2. Add 1 teaspoon of vinegar per cup (8 ounces) of liquid used as a base ingredient.

Carrot Tops

Carrot tops provide stunning greens when boiled down to produce a natural egg dye. Just remember that this method does require more time than most other options since carrots take longer than tumeric or beets due to their higher starch content!

1. Add one or two cups of carrot tops to 4 cups of water and bring to a boil for at least 30 minutes.
2. Let cool and add 1 tablespoon of vinegar for every cup (8 oz) of dye remaining.

Fruits & Berries

Fruits like blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries & even bananas can provide amazing colors ranging from light pinks up to brilliant purples depending on how much time you spend boiling them down into an all-natural hue!

1. Add 1 cup of fruit or berries to 4 cups of water and bring to a boil.
2. Add 1 teaspoon per cup (8 ounces) used as base ingredients plus some cold fruit juices if desired for more subtle colors when dying your Easter eggs this season!

Nuts and Seeds

Walnuts are great for producing dark browns while almonds offer lighter tan hues; poppy seeds give off deep blues & even mustard seeds yield lovely soft yellows.

1. Add 1 cup of nuts to 4 cups of water in a large pot. Bring to a boil and let simmer for a minimum of 30 minutes.
2. Strain out any solids then add 1 tablespoon of vinegar for every cup (8 ounces) of water remaining. Pour into a mason jar or container and let cool before adding an egg.

How To Make Natural Easter Egg Dyes

Coloring eggs with homemade egg dyes is very simple and makes for a great Easter project. Although the steps may vary slightly, depending on the ingredient you are working with, the overall process is the same. Use the following guide and step-by-step instructions to make food dyes for your Easter eggs this year.

Materials

• Large pot
• Wooden Spoons
• Fine Strainer
• Paper towels or cloth rags
• Quart or pint-sized mason jars

Ingredients

• Natural food of your choice
• Water
• Vinegar
• Hard boiled eggs

Optional

• Elastic bands
• Cheesecloth or nylons
• Flowers or petals
• Plant leaves

Directions

Instructions To Make Egg Dye

1. In a large pot, add one part of the ingredient to four parts of water and bring it to a boil.

2. Let the dye simmer for 10-30 minutes before straining off any solids into a bowl or mason jar. The longer that you allow the natural food to cook, the more intense the dye color will become.

1-quart mason jars are a great size and height to hold egg dye. You can fit approximately 3-5 eggs in one jar easily and the lid can also be sealed for storage of the dye or if you are letting the eggs sit overnight. Pint-sized mason jars will work too.

3. After you have removed all the solids, add 1 teaspoon of vinegar (any type will do) per cup (8 ounces) of water used as a base for the egg dye.

4. Let cool completely and set aside.

Instructions To Dye The Eggs

4. Prepare your egg to be dyed by wiping away any dirt or debris. If you wish to add a design to your egg, do so now.

For a striped appearance, wrap the egg in elastic bands or textured material. To add a flower petal or leaf design, place a leaf or petal on the surface of the eggs and wrap it with cheesecloth or a nylon sock to secure it in place.

5. Slowly and gently place the egg into the dye solution in the mason jar. Even though the egg is hard-boiled, you will still run the risk of cracking the egg if you drop it into the mason jar.
6. Soak eggs in the dye for a minimum of 10 minutes. Natural egg dyes do take a bit longer to color eggs than traditional dyes that use food coloring.

The longer the egg is in the dye, the deeper, brighter or bold the intensity of the colors should be. Leaving the egg for 24 hours or even a few days is fine, just remember to refrigerate the jar if you are going to do this.

7. Remove the egg and rinse the egg with water. Some of the dyes do leave a film or residue on the eggs so you will want to pat them dry with a paper towel or rag.
8. Remove any of the elastics, nylons, or cheesecloth that you have on the eggs and let them dry completely in an empty egg carton. This part is so much fun! A little bit like Christmas morning as you open each egg up and see what color you have!
9. Enjoy beautiful naturally dyed Easter eggs. It’s time to plan the Easter Egg hunt!

Patterns Or Designs For Naturally Dyed Eggs

If you’d like to add natural designs or patterns to your eggs (such as polka dots or stripes), try adding some rubber bands around them while they’re still wet in the dye. This will block some of the color from reaching certain parts of the eggshell resulting in unique designs.

Using this same idea, you can add a flower petal or leaf to your egg and wrap it with nylons or mesh cheesecloth. This has to be very tight so that the item doesn’t move or allow any color to bleed underneath.

Natural Egg Dyes Tips and Tricks

• Make sure that you remove any dirt or debris from your eggs before you begin dyeing them as this could affect the color of your finished product.
• Additionally, if you’re looking to achieve a specific pattern with natural dyes, consider using white or brown chicken eggs as they provide a great canvas for natural colors!
• For a fun variation or technique, try using a brush to paint on the dye.
• As soon as your dyed egg has reached its desired color, rinse it off in cold water and let it dry before displaying it!
• The dye will be darker the longer you leave the ingredient to boil in the pot of water. At a minimum, boil each food for at least 10 minutes.
• Always add vinegar to help the dye set on the eggs and to achieve a brighter color.
• The longer you leave the egg in the dye, the brighter, richer and more vibrant the color will become.
• Don’t be afraid to ‘double dip’ your eggs to make additional fun colors.
• Add cold fruit juices to your dye for more subtle colors when dying your Easter eggs this season.

Storing Egg Dyes

Natural egg dyes will last if you store them properly. Keep them in an airtight container and refrigerate for 4 to 7 days before deposing of them.

Frequently Asked Questions

More DIY And Decor Ideas

If you enjoyed coloring eggs with natural foods, you may want to try out another one of these fun projects and decor ideas.

• How To Age Terracotta Pots
• 5 Brilliant Uses For Rose Petals
• 7 Ways To Decorate For Spring

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