Monday, April 18, 2011

Nature's way of Dying Easter/Ostara Eggs




Had I thought about this one earlier I would have published it before the Spring Equinox (Ostara), but I thought of it now, so that’s when it will get published!
(I’m just grateful it decided to show up before Easter!;-)

Since my Eldest was little we have celebrated both the Pagan and Christian holidays. It made for a busy year full of crafts, fun, surprises, magic, discovery and honor. There was a time however, that I thought of dropping the Christian ways. But why? Santa is WAY cool! And who wouldn’t want to entice thoughts of a Rainbow colored bunny spreading joy to all the children in forms of sweets and treats?? They don’t have to be imprinted with any social injustice, reminded of any pain, all they want is Joy and Love.

So, with that said, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite things to do in honor of Ostara.
Easter Egg Coloring with Food Dyes.

The first year we did this I remember being astonished at the results! Mother Nature sure does provide some beautiful color! Not to mention It was easy to execute, the materials were all Earth Friendly(except for the Dixie Cups), and way cheap as we just incorporated the ingredients to our meals!
Here were some of my favorites!

Yellow onion skin-GORGEOUS deep orange/brown.
Don’t over think the prep on this, we throw the chopped off ends and scraps into a pot of water when peeling the onion.

Blueberries-they made a more delicious color than the grapes, you can do either or, or experiment and do both!

Kale-didn’t get as green as I wanted, but made a far out bright yellow!

Beets–Canned or jarred beets work well for this!
Anything from Pink, to Scarlet! Mix it with the grape and get purples!


All food items can be boiled,each separately in equal parts water for about 20 minutes.
Strain out the food matter and pour the dye into your desired container.
Add 2T white vinegar per 1 cup of dye.
HAVE FUN!


Tips:
1.If you would like to make blown eggs, it is better to color them THEN blow out the center. Ask me how I know! ;-)
2.Try drawing on your boiled egg with a white crayon then putting the egg in the dye!


*We have been using Dixie cups,but will be using reused salsa jars in the future.