Mamas & Papas-
Just wanted to share, that I tried my hand at, and had great results with dyeing eggs the old fashioned way. Beet for red, Turmeric for yellow, cabbage for blue, onion skin for orange. Took overnight for the colors to get to a deep hue, but a nice result. If you haven't bought a commercial set, and have some older kids, or are a kid at heart and have the patience, I would really recommend it.
For those of you who have done it this way, or who have seen it done this way, any tips or ideas on what I might do with the left over dye? about a quart of each, and each contains vinegar and salt.
Thanks,
F. B.
I used a quart of water two table spoons of vinegar, two salt, and added a cup of chopped red cabbage, a cup of grated beet, 6 tablespoons of turmeric, and a goodly amount of yellow onion skin. I brought them to a boil in non reactive containers, then turned down to a simmer for 15. When the mixtures cooled, I added my hard boiled eggs and put them in the fridge overnight. you can strain the mixtures if you want, but I didn't. This didn't take much effort, but it did take a lot of time. There are many variants to this "recipe" available online. Mine is based loosely on those on the Martha Stewart page.
Thanks for your tips.
Wow, great idea. Thanks for sharing.
I like the other poster's idea of dying more eggs & sharing them w/neighbors.
My only thought is for you to use it on more eggs! Then give those eggs to your neighbors. Maybe it's been a long time since someone thought of them at Easter.
tie dye shirts?!?!?!
Good for you for using natural products! Make more eggs for your neighbors or take some to the central nursing station at the local nursing home or assisted living residence. A lot of those folks don't have grandchildren to dye eyes with!
Have you tried some of the fun designs like using a crayon to write something on the egg (or draw a little flower or a B. silhouette), and then the dye doesn't penetrate there? You can also wrap them in rubber bands to keep sections white, or dye them a light color, let dry, add rubber bands (criss cross however you like), and dip again in dark dye (the bands protect the light sections).
I don't think you can use the leftover dye for anything else but you can add it to a compost heap if you don't want to drain it. Maybe you could dilute it a lot and use on out plants? But I'd worry about the salt and vinegar being too strong. I've also seen vinegar suggested as a natural killer spray for dandelions - add a little bit of dish soap so it sticks to the leaves, put it in a clean spray bottle (don't shake it - you don't want soap bubbles!), and set the nozzle on "stream" so it goes right to the heart of the plant and not to the surrounding grass. Don't do it on a real breezy day and don't do it 24 hours before rain is expected.
If you have any plain wood shelves, frames, toys, etc... with no dyes or varnish or paint, you can use the left over to stain them. I did a couple wood shelves using tea bags and I used a turmeric for picture frames and then hot-glued pretty gems on them. It's also a nice way to frame pictures of the family/friends dying the eggs/hunting. :)
Also, you can do the frames as gifts/remembrances of the day. The frames can be purchased at the dollar store as well as wood flowers and such.
ooooo, i love to hear about people using natural dyes!
i haven't risen to the level of doing it myself yet.
maybe next year.
do you put them in the fridge to soak in the dye overnight?
khairete
S.
My mother in law used it to make and dye her own paper.
Can you share with us how you did this? I'd love to try it!
Judging from how thoroughly frozen blueberries dye my kids' hands, I'd also suggest using some for purple.
I love the idea others have suggested of dyeing more for neighbors. My husband's family has a tradition of egg fighting--basically each person chooses and egg and you go around the room trying to crack other people's eggs without cracking your own. Anyone around there would like that? It kinda brightens up otherwise dull family gatherings.
