All right, I admit I feel a bit foolish asking about something so basic when most of you are so crafty, but I’ve never done Easter eggs before as I didn’t grow up with them and Ru hasn’t been old enough to be interested until this year.  I’d like to colour some eggs with her, using natural dyes: you know, the sort of thing where you use onion skins for yellow and beets for red etc.?  I know I’ve seen this around on the internet but I never made a note of the websites.  Could anyone point me to some good links/tutorials, or, if it’s fairly simple, just describe the process here?

Also, is there a way to use natural dyes/materials and get more than a simple solid-coloured egg?  I’d like to do a few with marbled effects too, if that’s possible.  I don’t want to attempt anything too adventurous for the first time, but I thought if we could do some solid colours and some marbled ones that would be plenty, and fun….

Thanks in advance!

They’re selling them in Lidl at the moment, marbled, plain and another effect too, sparkly maybe?  I have some left over from last year, brought over from Germany so they are completely natural, couldn’t tell from the ingredients list about the Lidl ones (I guess they aren’t)...  Myriad sell it but it’s only worth buying if you are ordering other stuff too.

Diana

Copied from a file I had - came from a website somewhere (can’t remember where though) -  To create a beautiful marbled effect, place the uncooked eggs in the foot of an old nylon stocking, along with one of the following: onion, tea or coffee for brown; tumeric or saffron for yellow; cranberries for red; beets for purple; spinach for green; or blueberries for blue. Tie a knot in the stocking and boil it gently, as above. Leave the eggs to dry in the wrap, then remove.

Marbling effects are obtained generally anyway but adding a little oil will enhance that.

Here is a little on the history and different things for different colours, shows boiling method and cold-dip method - http://lunagoddess.awardspace.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=246&Itemid=313  (scroll about half way down “Ostara Eggs”)

Another site with info on how to and what dyes them what colour - http://www.myhealthportal.co.uk/articles/192,_106_107.html

These should get you going x

We’ve done different ones over the last few years - used old thrifted tattered silk ties the last couple of years which is great fun to see the patterns and colours transfer across.