Easter Egg Decorating Ideas

The first step to a great Easter egg is boiling the egg. You don't want your eggs to crack, because then they don't look as nice, and aren't as appealing to eat when the dye seeps into the egg. Follow these instructions for a perfectly hard boiled egg.

Instructions
Put a single layer of eggs in a large pot, and cover with COLD water (about 1 inch above eggs). Turn on the heat under the eggs and as soon as they come to a full boil, remove them from the heat and let them sit in the hot water for about 15-20 minutes.

After the 15-20 minutes either remove eggs with a slotted spoon and place in a colander, or drain hot water from pot then rinse eggs with cool water until eggs feel cool. Place on paper towels to dry.

In cups or small glass bowls (needs to be able to withstand boiling water) use 1 cup of boiling water, 1 tablespoon of vinegar, and a few drops food coloring. The more food coloring you use, the brighter the eggs will be.

Wrap several rubber bands around a hard-boiled egg (careful to not crack the egg!) Dip it into a bowl containing the mixture of food color, vinegar and water. Let it stay there for a while. Then remove the egg, pat it dry and take off the rubber bands. The areas covered by rubber bands will still have the original egg shell color and have a tye-dye effect.

You can dye the eggs a solid color before applying the rubber bands, or leave the eggs their original color.

Use simple shape paper punches to punch out shapes from masking tape (or cut out your own design), then stick tape to egg. Dye the eggs with the tape on, let them dry, then remove the tape to reveal great designs!

Other ways to get fun designs is to use white crayon or clear nail polish. Color designs, names or anything else, then dye the egg. Wherever you applied the crayon or polish the dye won't stick.

Picture credit: Andre Baranowski

To create a "Marbled" look to your Easter eggs, add 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to your cup of egg dye.

You can start with a white egg, or one that has already been dyed a base color.

Quickly dip your egg in and out of the dye. The oil causes only some areas of the egg to get the dye, creating the marble design. Keep dipping for more intense colors. You can also let the egg dry and re-dip in a second color. Repeat as many times as you wish. When the egg is dry, blot with a paper towel to remove the excess oil.

Different amounts of oil will result in more or less marbling. Experiment to find the mixture that you like best. Remember you can always add more, so start conservatively.

Picture Credit: http://crafts.kaboose.com