DIY DYES
Posted on April 16 2017
DIY DYES: All Natural Egg Coloring
Crafting and creating is a passion of mine.
I hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design and a minor in Art History
has enabled me to excel in home crafting.
When Donna, from New Baby New Paltz asked me to co-host an All Natural Egg Coloring Workshop
with her, the answer was a huge “YES!”
After some research, I was happy to learn (almost) everything we need to color eggs can be found in the grocery store.
After 4 years of doing this workshop, the colors get better every year and I wanted to share them with you!
TECHNIQUE NO 1: DIY DYES
What you need:
Grape Juice Concentrate = Purple
Beets or Cranberries (fresh or frozen) = Pink
Turmeric = Yellow
Instant Coffee = Brown
Red Onion Skins = Reddish Brown
Yellow Onion Skins = Dark Yellow
Calendula Flowers (only ingredient that is not available at a grocery store) = Green Yellow
Red Zinger Tea (or Hibiscus Flowers) = Lavender
Red Cabbage = Blue
White Vinegar
Put each ingredient in separate pots, cover with about 2 inches of water and 2 tablespoons of white vinegar. Boil until water is reduced by half.
Let the water cool with the ingredients in it. Strain into separate containers (we use glass canning jars, or cups).
You can dip the hard-boiled eggs into the colors, like store bought dyes technique. However, because it is all natural, the eggs need to sit for at least 5-10 minutes to get decent colors.
TIP: If you and your kids have the patience, put your colors into separate mason jars (or any old glass jars) and add some hard-boiled eggs and refrigerate overnight. This produces the brightest and most brilliant colors. And a fun surprise in the morning.
Red Cabbage (left), Yellow Onion (middle) and Red Onion (right) refrigerated overnight
TECHNIQUE NO 2: Wrapping
Wrap the eggs (not hardboiled) with red and yellow onion skins and secure with old stockings (upcycle your stocking with runs!) or old baby socks.
The point is too secure the onion skins around the eggs tightly. Then placed the wrapped eggs in boiling water for 10 minutes.
Let cool and unwrap for a beautiful tie dye effect. This can also be done with different types of edible flowers.
DON’T FORGET TO RESIST:
Applying a resist on your eggs can be super fun! Stickers, rubber bands or crayons are the easiest. Apply to eggs before dipping in the dye will leave white space (called negative space) where the dye will not absorb. You can even use Magic Salve as a resist!!!
Parsley leaves as resist with Onion Skin Wrapping Technique
Rubber Bands as Resist
Don’t let all this talk about resisting and negative space get in the way of your egg coloring fun!
Relax and enjoy the spontaneity and healthy goodness of making your own dyes.
Peace, Kim
Kim is a momma, wife and small business owner.
She lives with her family in Dutchess County, NY, where she enjoys her rescue dog, bunny and chickens. Her family loves camping, hiking, geocaching, and all things Cub and Boy Scouting. She is the owner/creator of Three Sisters Herbals, LLC., which she affectionately calls “her other baby”. TSH is the same age as her youngest human baby, and they are all growing up together.
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5 comments
i love finding non toxic products i have two little boys and i hate for them to get into chemicals
What an awesome project to do with kids. Acturally i would have had just as much fun doing it on my own. lol Your eggs came out so beautiful. Thanks for sharing
That looks like so much fun. Thanks for sharing your techniques.
Those eggs are absolutely gorgeous!
Love using natural sources for coloring! I like to use some of these colors in soap. Thanks for sharing your lovely Easter experience.