Making Coloured Easter Eggs

So Easter time is here again and you’re looking for activities to do with the kids. This activity is a time honoured old favourite that the kids will have loads of fun doing. Watch out for the mess if you are not careful!

What you will need:

• Eggs
• White Vinegar
• Containers
• Food colouring

What to do:

1. Firstly you need to hard-boil your eggs. Simply bring a pan of water to the boil and once it is boiling put raw eggs into the water and leave them in there for about eight minutes. This will give you a nice hard-boiled egg.
2. Next you need to mix the dye in a container. Either, a cup, bowl, empty margarine container or any other container you like will do. Fill container to about ¾ full. Add one teaspoon of white vinegar for approximately every cup of water you have. Also add a few drops of food colouring (neon food colouring make great coloured eggs). Tip: The longer you leave your egg in the water, the darker the colour will become. Also don’t fill your container too full because when you add your egg the container will overflow – Messy!
3. Leave the egg in the water until you reach your desired colour. If your egg is still not coming up to the required hue perhaps add another drop or two of colouring.
4. Remove eggs from the water and pat dry with a piece of paper towel. Tip: For a glossier looking finish try rubbing in some vegetable oil.

Variations

There are a few variations on this standard procedure that you might like to consider to give your eggs a different look when finished.

• Crayon Eggs – to obtain this finish (and this is a great one for young children) get your kids to draw on their eggs with crayon before placing them in the dye. When they’re done their drawing will stand out from the dye – very effective.
• Tissue Paper Eggs – for this look you will need a small spray bottle with water. Simply wet your egg all over, either with spray bottle or by submerging in water. Place small ton up pieces of tissue paper all over your egg. You may like to use one colour or many colours. Finish with a spray of water to ensure all the tissue paper is wet. When your egg dries the paper will come away from the egg but the colours will have dyed the shell.
• Marble Finish Eggs – to obtain this finish you simply need to add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to your original dye mixture. The oil will create a marbling effect.

These are just a couple of examples of variations, but your imagination can be put to work and you can come up with some stunning looking home made eggs. And all while the kids have a ball!

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