Creative Ways To Dye Easter Eggs

BIRMINGHAM, AL — One of the most enjoyable family activities during Easter is dyeing Easter eggs, which can be done in a variety of ways.

The simple way to get started is to combine half a cup of cup boiling water, 1 teaspoon of vinegar and 10 to 20 drops food color in a cup to achieve desired color, and repeat for each color you want to use. Dip hard-cooked eggs in dye for about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon, wire egg holder or tongs to add and remove eggs from dye.

But that's just for the basic dye. If you want to get creative, here are a few ways to make your Easter eggs unique:

Checkered Dye Eggs: Apply vertical and horizontal lines of thin tape to hard-boiled eggs. Dip once and let soak for about five minutes. Remove tape and repeat in a lighter shade of the same dye.

Shaving Cream Easter Eggs: Use food coloring to create a design on a bed of plain shaving cream, then roll hard-boiled eggs over the surface to transfer the colors. Let the eggs dry, then gently clean to remove any excess shaving cream.

Whirled Eggs: Scribble swirls all over the shells with crayons to emulate veining. Then dye your eggs per the package instructions, and after they dry, gently "polish" them with a cotton cloth. The pigment won't stick to the crayon wax, hence the trompe l'oeil finish.

Polka Dot Eggs: Once dry, use a liner brush to paint polka dots, swirls or other designs with glue onto painted eggs. Then sprinkle the wet glue with glitter.

Confetti Eggs: Cut up colored tissue paper into confetti bits and apply them to slightly dampened eggs to transfer the color.