Celebrate the Easter holiday with fun, family-friendly activities everyone can enjoy. Decorating Easter eggs is a great tradition to establish with children of varying ages. It is also a tradition they can later pass on to their own children — sharing the best tips and tricks for creating spectacular Easter eggs. Here are 10 to try.
Homemade dyes. Instead of running to the store for a packaged egg-dyeing kit, make your own natural dyes. Coat each egg lightly with vegetable oil and then dip into natural dye. The Kansas State University Research and Extension office suggests using beet or cranberry juice for red, cooked spinach or kale leaves for green, blueberry juice for blue, and tea or coffee for tan/brown.
Striped eggs. Wrap five or six rubber bands around a hardboiled egg before dipping it into the dye. The area where the rubber bands lie will be white after you dip the egg in dye and then remove the bands. You can dip your eggs in more than one color for varied stripes.
Glitter. For sparkly masterpieces, cover eggs with a solution of craft glue diluted with water. The solution should be like slightly runny pancake batter. Roll the solution-coated egg in glitter. Use different colors of glitter for a sparkling array of eggs.
Stickers. Stickers are one of the easiest and quickest ways to decorate Easter eggs. Little ones can attach stickers easily to previously dyed eggs. Remember, the stickers won’t adhere to damp eggs.
Marbled eggs. Dye eggs solid colors and allow to dry. Mix one tablespoon of vegetable oil to into one of the dark-colored (blue or purple work well) dye cups. Swirl a fork through it. Dip the egg in and re-dye it for a cool marbled effect.
Felt chicks. Cut pieces of felt into beaks, feet and wings. Attach with craft glue to create cute little chicks. Adults may have to help with cutting. Draw eyes with a marker or glue on wiggly eyes from a craft store.
Magic crayons. With a white crayon, have the kids draw fun designs on the eggs before dipping them into any color dye. The wax in the crayon will not absorb the dye and the designs will appear like magic.
Bedazzled. You can find assorted colors of craft gems at any hobby store. After eggs are dyed, add some glitz by attaching gems with craft glue.
Lace. Scraps of lace can add a unique look to dyed eggs. Kids can brush craft glue on the egg with a watercolor paintbrush and then press the lace onto the glue.
Tie-dyed. Place three or four hard-boiled eggs in a colander and drizzle any color of food coloring over the eggs. Slightly shake the colander a bit to get the food coloring to run over the eggs. Do this with two more colors. Let the colors set for about five minutes and then lightly rinse with cold water. Let drain and then air dry.
