Easter Eggs!

Our reader Meredith sent us a great topic for discussion:  

Easter Eggs

Specifically, how to decorate them a bit more naturally, so toddlers do not have food coloring stained on their hands.  I hadn't even considered this, and we wee planning to dye eggs this weekend!

You can see the full question here on ohdeedoh.com.

Now I am not familiar with the website, so I don't know if the editor normally chimes in, or if other readers do, kind of like a message board, but I was a bit disappointed by the editors notes.  Eggs are fragile, right, we get that.  Then they basically reiterated what she had already stated.


When we were little, we used to color in light colored crayons and then stick them in a vinegar/food coloring mix. We used brown eggs because my mom liked how they colored better:)




Meredith found these great color recipes:
Pink
1 cup pickled beet juice and 1 tablespoon vinegar
Lavender
1 cup grape juice and 1 tablespoon vinegar
Brown
1 cup strong coffee and 1 tablespoon vinegar
Blue
Cut 1/4 head of red cabbage into chunks. Add cabbage to 4 cups boiling water. Stir in 2 tablespoons vinegar. Let cool to room temperature. Remove cabbage with a slotted spoon.
Bluish-Gray
Mix 1 cup frozen blueberries with 1 cup water. Bring to room temperature. Remove blueberries.
Dark Pink
Cut 1 medium beet into chunks. Add beet to 4 cups boiling water. Stir in 2 tablespoons vinegar. Let cool to room temperature. Remove beets.
Yellow
Remove the peel from 1 orange. Add peel to 4 cups boiling water. Stir in 2 tablespoons vinegar. Let cool to room temperature. Remove orange peel.




Here are some other ways to decorate hard boiled eggs:


1. Dye them in regular old food coloring
2. Add stickers
3. Accent with ribbons
4. Dilute craft glue and add glitter all over*!


*Resource: http://freestuff4kids.net/2008/03/06/13-creative-ways-to-dye-and-decorate-easter-eggs/


What does your family do?  Do you do it with young children, or do you wait until they're older?




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Thanks, Meredith!