We are launching this new section of the Journal where we will offer you our best Do it yourself projects with a lovely Easter workshop.
Making natural plant-based dyes had long appealed to us, and testing them on eggs for Easter was the perfect opportunity.
When we lived in Germany, we could find these colorful shelled eggs everywhere at Easter time, which aroused our curiosity!
You can find natural dyes in organic stores, but it is more rewarding to make them yourself, and the result is also more successful.
Preparing plant-based dyes
The idea was to do several baths to obtain varied colours, or even to mix them together to multiply the possibilities.
We were delighted to find white-shelled eggs at the local market.
Reduce in small saucepans of water:
- blueberries (organic from Picard)
- spinach
- 1 raw beetroot (or collect the juice from pre-cooked beetroots)
- a red cabbage to obtain a beautiful pastel blue (and yes!)
- Reuse the water from cooking black rice for a beautiful brown
- onion skins or turmeric for yellow
Cook over medium heat for approximately 15-20 minutes.
Add 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar to each bowl. Cook the eggs until hard-boiled.
Dye the eggs
Place the eggs in the bowls, leaving them for a shorter or longer time depending on the desired effect. For a truly stunning result, don't hesitate to soak them overnight! Kids love it.
Each shell reacts differently; for fun effects, you can dip the eggs halfway, for example using an egg cup.
We also added Smarties using overcooked rice as glue.
Ideally, you should have white and beige shells so that you can mix subtle pastel colors with more pronounced tones like dark brown.
Finally, once the eggs have been removed from their dye and are dry, make them shine by applying a little vegetable oil with a small soaked cloth.
The result is so pretty that it's hard to bring yourself to eat those eggs afterwards!
