You don’t need to buy expensive egg decorating kits! You have many things which will dye Easter right in your kitchen!

Besides the eggs -- Look for these items!

Vinegar
Koolaide/Flavoraide/or generic equivalent
turmeric
onion skins yellow and red
red cabbage
curry spice
food color in a jar or bottle
colored gelatin
beet juice
crayons
pictures from magazines
flour and water paste

Any of the items in the list will dye easter eggs and the flavored gelatins and Koolaide will give the eggs a nice smell in the egg basket! Onion skins and the cabbages will give a light smell that is less festive! Turmeric and curry powder have a nice smell I think, but my Husband hates it!

Directions:

First boil the eggs or blow them out for easier handling.

To obtain colors from the cabbage, onion skins, tumeric or curry powder bring water to a boil and take off the heat. Add the ingredients -- EACH to a separate pan or heat proof dish -- and cover.Let sit over night. Off Any Heat! This will extract the color. High temperatures destroy red tones. SO heat the water first, add the vegetable matter and then take off heat and cover.

The initial heating will break down the cell walls of the vegeatble type products and then the soaking releases the colors.

The next day add a glug of vinegar, which when I measure is a tablespoon for every cup of liquid.

Put the eggs in and color. You will get yellow from brown onion skins and pink from red onion skins. Red cabbage makes pink and turmeric and curry powder as you probably guessed makes a deep wild golden yellow.

To get colors from the Koolaide-like drink mixes dissolve in a cup of hot water and add a tablespoon of white vinegar. You can get cheap generic equivalents of name brand products at discount groceries and clearance stores like
Aldi.com
http://www.Aldi.com

Big Lots
http://www.biglots.com

Save a Lot
http://www.maevers.com/savealot.html

I think I paid less than a dollar US for sugarless drink mix. However, sugar mix will work too. I like this formula as the eggs have nice smell!

To use Gelatins follow the same procedure with two cups of liquid and two tablespoons of vinegar to set the color.

If you use commercial food color in the bottle take a cup of hot water. Add a tablespoon of vinegar and then add color to suit your decorating needs.

You can mix a paste of flour and water paint a pattern on the eggs and then dip in the colors. Let set for a bit and then wash the paste off.

Or you can color the eggs with crayons for patterns and then dip into the cooled dyes. This will leave a pattern of light and dark decorations on the egg.

All these are obviously food grade, edible and safe for kids. This makes a great fun afternoon project at low cost. They will also dye pure wool or silk. so you can dye yarn or fabric after you are done. Just heat lightly, add damp yarn, and take off heat and let soak overnight. These won´t work on artifical fibers like acrylic.

For more vinegar ideas check out the
Vinegar Ideas Page
http://www.versatilevinegar.org/

To decorate eggs without dyes for chemically sensitive people, just use flour and water paste and put cut outs from magazine and catalogs or kiddie drawings onto the eggs and let dry. They will look great too!

Egg Basket:
Cut strips of plastic or paper grocery bags or other shedded material and place in a scavenged basket, or bowl. Put eggs in and add other paper cut outs or cut outs from well washed plastic produce containers. We cut ours into egg shapes and decorate with paper scraps or pictures cut from magazines.

Long ago I got a copy of Carla Emery's wonderful book:
Encyclopedia of Country Living and Olf Fashioned Recipe Book

It has all sorts of ideas much like the ones I've adapted here.

Happy Holidays!

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