I'm very excited to share my first post here for BYOP- Bring Your Own Party  event planning. When they came to me and asked if I wanted to collaborate I was both honored and excited to work together. BYOP not only plans your event but will cater, manage and decorate your space. The possibilities are endless with their  idea of "If you dream it we can design it". 
http://www.bringyoparty.com/


 D.I.Y Eco-Friendly 

Egg Dye

                Spring cleaning, brighter colors and yummy candy galore (mmm jelly beans!) … a few sure signs that spring is here! Whether you have children or not it is still fun to take part in the ritual of egg dying. Instead of using the typical store bought colors I wanted to share some easy recipes for unique and Eco-friendly dyes. I’m bringing to you D.I.Y colors made from products you probably already have at home!

               This is a fun project you can do in a short period of time because the D.I.Y colors require little prep time. You will approach this just like you would any egg dying project… boil the eggs, let them cool and mix the colors with vinegar. Now, let’s get into the first fun part: making the colors!

                                                   

Materials Needed:

•   Medium to large pot to boil 12 eggs
•   Permanent markers or a white crayon for decorating
•   Washi ( paper tape) or masking tape if you want to create lines
•    Bowls to dye eggs in
•   Egg carton to dry dyed eggs
•   Tea bags ( blueberry, chai, raspberry) of your choice
•   White vinegar
•   12 white eggs (or more if you desire)
•   Spinach
•   Coffee
•   Red onion
•   Sweet potato

BOILING THE EGGS

Once you have your materials gathered you can begin to boil your eggs.

1.      Put all your eggs in a pot and fill it with water.

2.      Once they are covered bring the water to a boil.

3.      Once the water is boiling, cook for 7 minutes.

4.      Put the eggs in a bowl of cold water and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes or until cool.

5.      Dry the eggs completely before decorating.

Decorating & Dying

               Now it’s time to start decorating! If you are planning to decorate with the markers, wait until the eggs are dyed. If you are planning to use the white crayon, decorate now before you dye. This creates a really cool look where the design is resistance to the dye so it sticks out even when colored.

D.I.Y DYE MIXTURES AND MEASUREMENTS:

Mix the following ingredients with 3/4 cup water and 3 tablespoons of vinegar unless otherwise specified below.

•    Bluish/greyish tinted dye: Blueberry Tea bags
•   Orange/ brownish dye: Sweet potato ( boiled and strained for water)/ orange tea
•   Greenish/ brownish/ yellowish dye:  Spinach ( 1 cup mixed with 1/2 cup water heated     then strained) plus 1/2 cup  coffee
•   Brown:Coffee ( 1 cup strong coffee)
•   Light brown: Chai tea bag
•   Deep red/ purple/blue:  Fresh or frozen blueberries

The longer you leave the egg in the dye the deeper the color gets. I left my eggs in for 3-4 minutes and did about 3 at a time in separate ramekins so I could decorate as I went. This is meant to be a fun project so definitely add colors, mix dyes and see what you get! I really liked trying to do the ombre (color fades from light to dark or vice versa) to show the gradient of color.

The Finished Product

Allow eggs to dry for at least 15 minutes in the egg carton before refrigerating. Once they are done you can display them at a festive spring gathering or take them in your lunch as a fun reminder of this time of year. Eggs that are colorful and decorative are much prettier than bland, regular hard boiled eggs! 

               The fun part about making your own colors are you can customize them to your liking. Want a brighter red? Add some extra berries. Want a more yellowy- brown? Add a touch more of the brewed coffee. It is fun to see what combinations can be used from mixing and matching.

                Don’t forget if you want to decorate with the markers after you have dyed the eggs make sure they are completely dry (about 30 minutes after taking them out of the dye)

                                              I had to share my snack while dying eggs :-)

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and I look forward to sharing more fun projects soon!

Xo-

Christina @ CT Green Gal