Easter Eggs

Here are some fun things we tried today, or will be trying throughout these forty days of Easter:

CRAFT MATERIALS:
Eggs
Stickers
Dye

Time needed: About 1 Hour
1. You can use letters, as we did here, stickers in other shapes, or even custom shapes cut from self-adhesive label paper (available at office supply stores).

2. Fix the sticker to the egg, then place the egg in a container of dye. Remove the egg from the dye and let it dry before removing the sticker.

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Use undiluted food coloring and a cotton swab to paint on hard boiled eggs. Let the eggs sit in egg cups until dry.

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These eggs are really simple to make. The basic principle is, you drizzle rubber cement over the egg, let it dry, then color the egg. Naturally, the egg dye won't stick to the parts that are painted with the glue. After the egg is colored to the desired shade, let it dry completely, then carefully peel off the rubber cement.

You can paint the rubber cement on plain white eggs, like we did with the blue and white or green and white eggs above. Another option is to dye the egg with a base color, then apply the rubber cement and re-dip in a contrasting color. The most important tip is to dry the eggs completely between colors and or coats of rubber cement.

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Wrap a piece of cheesecloth tightly around a dry egg, bundling the edges together and fastening them at the top with a rubber band or twist ties. Dip your paint brush or cotton swab and dip it into the egg dye, then dab this onto the cloth covered eggs. Repeat, painting the eggs with various shades in various places, use your imgaination. Overlap some colors for special effects, or keep it monchrome. When you're finished painting, set the egg aside to dry.

The more patient you are and the more the egg dries, the better. When you unwrap the egg, you'll be left with a design that resembles armadillo skin. You can use this technique over plain white eggs, over a base base coat of color or even over marble colored eggs.

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Once you're ready to start marbelizing, stir 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of oil into a cup of egg dye. Quickly dip your egg in and out of the dye. The dye will adhere, the oil will repel, creating the marble design. Keep dipping for more intense colors. You can also let the egg dry and re-dip in a second color. Repeat as many times as you feel will make a gorgeous egg. When finished and egg is dry, take a paper towel to get the excess oil of the surface of the egg. Different amounts of oil will result in more or less marbeling. Experiemnt to find the mixture that you like best. Remember you can always add more, so start conservatively.

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In a coffee cup, mix about 20 drops of food coloring with 1 teaspoon of vinegar. Add 1/2 cup hot water. Before you color your eggs let the water cool to room temperature. If necessary you can add a bit more water.

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Draw pictures or designs with wax crayon. Even white wax crayon will be useful for this project. Dip in dye. Let dry.
The dye won't soak through the crayon! I find cheap crayons work best for this project (crayolas don't have quite enough wax in them though they do work ok).
An adult may need to help hold the egg while the child draws their pictures on it... at least the first time until they get the hang of it.