Thank you to Megan from Fig and Fauna for this gorgeous post about how to dye eggs from plants. Have a peek; I bet you have most of these in your kitchen and yard!
On a quick walk outside, you can find a rainbow of colors to make into dyes. Look for flowers (including weeds) that are vibrant in color, as well as leaves, berries and roots. Sometimes the extracted colors will be surprise you and be a completely different color from the original plant. Red cabbage for instance, first creates a purple water - but after the egg rests in the water, it creates a deep midnight blue!
Here are some that we tried, but don't be afraid to gather new things and see what colors you can make ~
Pale Yellow - Goldenrod flowers, mashed
Yellow/Orange - Outer yellow onion skins (the papery shell), peeled
Deep Pink - Beets, quartered
Red - Pokeberry, mashed
Dark Blue - Red Cabbage, quartered
Light Blue - Blueberries, mashed
You will need:
Water
Plant Materials
White Vinegar
Hard Boiled Eggs
Boil two cups of water in a saucepan over medium high heat for each color. Mash, quarter or peel the ingredient and boil until the extracted color is dark. Stir in one teaspoon of white vinegar, to deepen the colors. Discard the plant parts and let the mixtures cool. Submerge eggs in the colors and let rest to achieve desired colors - the longer the eggs are submerged, the darker the color will be.
Here are some that we tried, but don't be afraid to gather new things and see what colors you can make ~
Pale Yellow - Goldenrod flowers, mashed
Yellow/Orange - Outer yellow onion skins (the papery shell), peeled
Deep Pink - Beets, quartered
Red - Pokeberry, mashed
Dark Blue - Red Cabbage, quartered
Light Blue - Blueberries, mashed
You will need:
Water
Plant Materials
White Vinegar
Hard Boiled Eggs
Boil two cups of water in a saucepan over medium high heat for each color. Mash, quarter or peel the ingredient and boil until the extracted color is dark. Stir in one teaspoon of white vinegar, to deepen the colors. Discard the plant parts and let the mixtures cool. Submerge eggs in the colors and let rest to achieve desired colors - the longer the eggs are submerged, the darker the color will be.
*Note about vinegar: Adding an acid base, enhances red , yellow and orange tones. However, cool tones like blue and purple are best left alone. Adding vinegar to blues will change them to red and pink.
Have you ever tried natural dyes for Easter eggs? Did you have any luck? What were your favorite dyes to use?
