As we near Easter during this time of self isolation it may look and feel very different. Perhaps you can't be with people you love or even leave your home to purchase the materials you need to make the holiday special. In our house Easter revolves around our community easter egg hunt, an annual family event that was cancelled to maintain social distancing. Thinking of creative ways to connect as a family and forge new traditions we decided to make Natural Easter Egg Dye. The novelty of being able to create something from scratch, using everyday materials found in our home gave us back a sense of mastery and instantly turned frowns upside down. The children loved experimenting with various materials and being surprised by the results. We laughed and for a time the world felt normal. I invite you to explore your cupboards and discover what magic can be found there. You might be pleasantly surprised regardless of your age!
Materials
Hardboiled Eggs (white works best)
White Vinegar
Metal pot
Glass jar or bowl
Wax Crayons (optional)
Various food such as: red cabbage, onion skins, turmeric, beets, coffee, tea, blueberries
Instructions
Combine 4 cups of water in medium size pot with 2 TBS of vinegar.
Bring to boil and add your dye ingredient (listed below). Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Let cool before straining. During this time we decorated our eggs using wax crayons.
Strain dye into a jar and carefully add eggs. Let soak for 30 minutes or more. The longer you leave eggs to soak the darker the colour will become. Overnight for deepest colour.
When dry you can rub a vegetable oil onto eggs for a wonderful shine.
Colours
Pink: 4 cups chopped Beets
Blue: 4 cups sliced Red Cabbage
Gold: 4 cups Onion skins
Yellow: 3 tablespoons Turmeric
Indigo: 4 cups Blueberries
Brown: 2 cups Coffee grounds
My son wanted to experiment with food colouring. We added 4 drops of green food dye to water and let an egg soak all day. Results: yielded very light green that rubbed off. Definitely natural food dye was the way to go! We did manage to create a perfect spring green by transferring a yellow (Turmeric) egg to blue dye (Cabbage). Mix it up and see what new colours you discover!
I encourage you to have fun, experiment with different materials and incorporate something new into your Easter celebrations. The act of creation is a natural way to ground in the present moment and connect with your loved ones. Be well everyone.