I discovered a different way of dyeing Easter eggs years ago in a magazine and have always wanted to give it a try it. So, I did some searching, found the original website and gave it a go! This procedure is very labor intensive and time consuming so, make sure you have a full afternoon to devote to it. The result is really cool; a whole different look for Easter eggs. I think they look kind of look like antiques!
Since you will find the detailed instructions on the bigsislilsis website, I will briefly explain my process.
You will then need to position the flowers and leaves on the eggs, place them in cut-up nylon stockings and tightly tie them with plastic bag twisties.
Purple cabbage, onion skins and cranberries were boiled and
strained to create the natural dye. Next, the eggs are
lowered into the gently boiling water to cook the eggs.
The eggs are then left in the dye for 2-3 hours to give them the desired color.
Here are the eggs after pealing away the nylons, flowers and leaves.
The purple cabbage dye turns the eggs blue. The mottled egg at the
top is the result of wrapping boiled onion skins around the egg before placing it into the nylon stocking. The blue colored eggs are my favorites. I wish I had made
more of these :).
This is the result of the onion skin dye bath.
This was how the eggs turned out after sitting in the cranberry dye. I liked these the least but, I have to say, that the website warned me of that!
Here are the eggs after they have been rubbed with cooking oil. This step really finishes them off nicely.
Here you can see the flowers and leaves
imprinted on the eggs. I think they are really pretty.
More close-ups!
Here is the finished product! Aren't they cool?!
As I said, if you have lots of time...try this. For my part, I could have spent extra time placing the flowers and leaves more precisely on the eggs. Some of them got "mushed" when I placed them in the nylons. By the time I got to that part in the process, I was losing patience a little bit and didn't give as much attention to detail as I should have. Next time I will ask a friend to help me. I would have gotten more accomplished and probably would not have become as impatient. Lesson learned.
Since the eggs are so interesting looking, I'll probably try to find new ways to use them in my Easter decorations! They are too pretty to waste!
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