Natural Egg Dyes

*Because these dyes are natural, they will not be nearly as deep or vibrant as the artificial colors usually used for egg dyes*
As Easter approaches, coloring eggs has been on my mind. This is the first year we plan to color eggs with Noah. We bought the artificial color PAAS kit that I grew up on to use... but then I found these ideas for natural egg colors! Even better news- I've been boiling a lot of eggs lately to eat, and with these natural colors, you actually color the eggs while they are boiling!
Here are the directions for this super simple, eco-friendly project, using things you have around your house!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups filtered water
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 4-6 raw, white eggs
• Dye items (listed at the end of this recipe)

I used spinach, the stems from 4 broccoli crowns, and a handful of dehydrated blueberries, in an attempt to make a blue-green color

Directions:

Wash the eggs to remove any coating. Bring water, dye items, and vinegar to a boil. Add room temperature eggs and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes, remove from heat, cover, and let sit another 15 minutes or more, until desired color is achieved. (The longer you leave the eggs in the dye, the deeper the color will be.) Remove the eggs from the water, rinse them, and let them dry.

When adding the eggs to the boiling water, be very careful. I used a silicone coated spoon to lower them into the water, and nestled them into the dye items.

Dye Items: (items are written in the color they produce)
Red Cabbage Leaves, Blueberries, Red Onion Skins, Pomegranate Juice, Beets or Beet Juice, Grape Juice, Hibiscus Tea, Paprika, Yellow Onion Skins, Ground Turmeric, Cumin, Orange and Lemon Peels, Spinach Leaves, Chili Powder, Black Walnut Shells, Black Tea, Ground Coffee

I rubbed the egg on the bottom in the middle as I rinsed it, this made a much paler color. I like them both ways... They came out pretty! Someday I dream of having chickens that lay blue eggs :)

The next time I boil eggs I think I will try yellow or orange. Noah loves hard boiled eggs, and Faith likes the yolks, so I am going to keep a list of these dye items in the door of one of my cupboards, so we can have pretty colored eggs all year long!
Have fun and happy egg dyeing!!