All Natural Egg Dying

Tis the season! I had the girls over to color eggs and they were very surprised to learn we would be coloring eggs with dyes made of cabbage, beets, and turmeric! Truth be told, it was the color palette derived from the all natural dyes that prompted me to make these versus using the good ol’ PAAS tablets.

Prep and patience is key here. I made the dye’s the night before, using the super simple recipe below. I also prepped the table, rolling out brown paper under the table cloth in the event of drips and spills – not sure how strong the dyes would be and didn’t want to risk staining the table, the tablecloth however I wasn’t fussed about.

Ingredients:

4 c. sliced beets (pink/red dye)

4 c. chopped red cabbage (blue dye)

3 Tablespoons of Turmeric (yellow dye)

White Vinegar

Salt

For each dye, add the beets, red cabbage or turmeric to 4c. of water, bring to a boil then simmer for 30 min. Let the dye cool before using to color eggs. When cooled and ready to use, add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to each dye and 1/8c of salt.

Yellow: Soak eggs in room-temperature turmeric solution, 30 minutes.
Light Pink: Soak eggs in room-temperature beet solution, 30 minutes.
Light Blue: Soak eggs in room-temperature cabbage solution, 30 minutes.
Royal Blue: Soak eggs in room-temperature cabbage solution overnight.
Lavender: Soak eggs in room-temperature beet solution, 30 minutes. Follow with room-temperature cabbage solution, 30 seconds.
Chartreuse: Soak eggs in room-temperature turmeric solution, 30 minutes. Follow with room-temperature cabbage solution, 5 seconds.

I have included a key above to guide your use of the dyes to create the colors you desire. Note, most require the eggs to soak for 30 minutes in the first color.

I filled the glass bunny with Sweet-Tarts

I am all about using what you already have at home. I didn’t have a basket, but I had a vase so I added green grass and that’s what I will use to present the eggs.

I couldn’t resist the hydrangea’s when I was picking up eggs. I actually think they are my favorite flowers. I don’t have a shallow vase so I used an old glass hot chocolate bottle as a vase surrounded by my small boxwood wreath.