The Easter egg, being an official item of Easter Sunday, is often made with paints, dyes and other coloring materials. Using standard art materials makes the eggs look sterling, but you might contribute to the ever-growing levels of pollution once you dispose them. You can create your Easter decorations without putting nature at risk, with the use of natural dyes. These coloring materials are pretty abundant, so you should have no trouble using them to dye your Easter eggs.

Sources of Natural Dyes

Natural dyes come from herbs and fruit extract. They are mixed with water and vinegar to produce the dye’s base, which sticks to the eggs, just like its artificial counterparts. Each color comes from a different material, so just refer to this table for reference:

• Red - cherry syrup, raspberry syrup, pomegranate
• Green - liquefied chlorophyll (from leaves and green vegetables), boiled spinach
• Brown - coffee, tea, walnut shells
• Yellow - green tea, ground turmeric, Chamomile tea, lemon peels
• Blue - blueberry juice, grape juice (dark grapes), blueberries
• Pink - diluted raspberry juice, diluted cranberry juice, beets
• Orange - carrot juice, paprika
• Gray - diluted grape juice (dark grapes)
• Purple - violets, hibiscus tea
• Black - blackberry

Some of the ingredients need to be crushed, mixed with water then boiled before the color appears. If you want to get a color not mentioned in this list, you can mix some of the dyes together. You can even play with the dyes for original colors or for distinct color combinations.

Making Patterns

Easter Egg patterns, which highlight the eggs’ appearance, are made with darker hues. You have the freedom to create patternless eggs, but they might be too plain to stimulate the kids. Since natural dyes are water-based, they can be washed off easily if you use the wrong material for making patterns. Here are three options that you can use:

• crayons
• wax
• rubber bands

Each material produces a distinct effect on the Easter egg’s appearance. Crayons, being oil-based, should be applied first before the egg is dyed. The patterns will be accentuated by the natural dye’s subtle hue. As for the wax, it doesn’t erode the dye’s water-based designs. The rubber bands, on the other hand, are perfect for tie dye patterns. You can use each pattern medium for a collection of Easter eggs with a wide variety of designs.

Making the Easter Egg

With the natural dye and the pattern media taken care of, you can now focus on creating the Easter eggs. Making them is easy. You just have to make dye with the right consistency and create patterns that go well with an egg’s general color. When the dye and patterns have been applied, wait for the eggs to dry then place them in a nicely-made basket.

Materials Used:

• 1 or 2 cartons of eggs
• fruits or herbs (refer to the “Sources of Natural Dyes” table)
• crayons
• wax
• rubber bands
• large mixing bowls
• paintbrush
• hot water
• white vinegar

Procedure:

1. Wash the eggs in soap and water, so particles and fluids stuck to the shells will be removed.
2. Mash the materials of the natural dyes and place them in separate mixing bowls.
3. Add hot water then stir he bowl’s contents thoroughly. The colors will eventually appear for each bowl. Mix the solutions if you want to create other colors.
4. Place two to three teaspoons of vinegar for each bowl. The vinegar will make the dye slicker and give it better sticking power to solid surfaces.



5. When the colors settle, place the eggs in the bowls, except for the ones that will be marked with rubber bands and crayon-based patterns. Remember, the colors will be darker the longer you soak the eggs in the bowls.
6. Apply crayon patterns on some of the unsoaked eggs. Make the strokes fairly heavy, so the patterns won’t get washed away by the dye.
7. After placing the patterns, soak them in their corresponding natural dyes.
8. Get the remaining unsoaked eggs and tie rubber bands around each of them, in such a way that they will appear like tie dye patterns.
9. Soak them in their corresponding dye colors.
10. Remove some of the eggs from the bowls and apply wax patterns. Make the patterns bold and intricate, so they will look appealing.
11. Remove the remaining eggs from the bowls then wait for them to dry. Remove the rubber bands from the eggs when they are dry.
12. When the eggs are ready, place them in a nice basket fit to be carried around your community.

If you want to make the eggs look shiny, you can rub them with cooking oil. Apply a generous amount for each egg then rub. When the oil dries, your Easter eggs will have a nice glimmer, making the eggs seem like they came from that magical goose from the fairy tale.

So Natural, It Looks Artificial

You can use the eggs for display or for games like the Easter Egg Hunt. The colors and designs will remain intact, given the properties of this dye recipe. You can even mix them with artificially-colored ones and other people won’t see the difference. Normally, artificially-colored eggs look more robust than naturally-colored ones, but this recipe gives the former a run for the money. For more information regarding this article, read how to dye eggs naturally.

Watch The Video

How to Decorate All-Natural Easter Eggs : How to Prepare a Natural Dye for Easter Eggs

Easter Egg Dying : How to Make Homemade Easter Egg Dye