Dying Eggs for EASTER!

I remember growing up, and not being able to afford those expensive egg dying kits. Even still, I’m too broke to afford those really cool ones that let you make eggs gold, or whatever. I can’t help but wonder, though, if I would buy them if I COULD afford them! I still grew up relatively poor, with LOTS of kids, so I am a thrifty person. Here are a few ideas of how to decorate your eggs for less… and it’s still REALLY fun!

1. Get a white crayon, have the kids color on the eggs, and then dip them in the egg dye. Wherever a crayon marked the egg, it stays white.
2. Instead of buying egg dye, use food coloring. You can even get different hues of the same color by adding less or more food coloring.
3. Use coffee mugs for the egg dye. That will make it so it can’t be too deep, and less area for the egg to drop.
4. Cover the table with an old newspaper. This will protect the tabletop, and, hopefully, absorb some of the moisture. If you live where it’s warm outside, just do it outside! That way, anything that spills will go in the grass.
5. Put the egg, with food coloring, into a Ziploc. This will be mess free eggs.
6. Ziplocs also work great for glittering the eggs. Drop in a Ziploc some glitter, then put the wet, dyed egg into the Ziploc. The glitter will naturally stick to the egg.
7. Use the empty egg cartons to store the dyed eggs. This idea also works great if you want to let them dry in the cartons, since they absorb moisture.
8. Paintbrushes are a great way to get the custom look without spending a bundle.
9. I, personally, like to get the cheap stamps from Michael’s crafts or Walmart, and stamp on the eggs directly. I usually dye the whole egg, and then stamp in a darker hue of the same color. Ex: Pink egg, with Red stamp. –I recently got the idea to glue foam stickers to the tops of bottle lids to make stamps. I will be trying it this year! (Website with idea is here.)
10. Stickers are generally pretty cheap, and they make a dyed egg look so NICE. Plus, kids of all ages can use a sticker. :D
11. Place several wet eggs into a dry bowl, then drip food coloring onto the eggs. I like to do this with multiple colors, and it has a really cool effect. You need to take out the eggs fairly quickly, or you will get gathering dye on all the bottom ones (a big ring or a solid, dark section. Not pretty!).
12. Tie rubber bands around the eggs, then drop them into the dye. The rubber bands usually keep that section of the egg white. As soon as the egg dries, take off the rubber bands. Viola!

I hope these ideas help you out. Please let me know how they work for you, and, if you can think of other suggestions, please shoot them my way!

Until next time,

--Danyelle