Thursday, March 15, 2012

Our Easter Egg Dying Experiment~Making Our Own Easter Egg Dye Using Fruits and Vegetables



Hello!
I first want to say thank you to everyone who left such sweet comments about my sister expecting her 10th child....
I am excited to announce Monica delivered a healthy baby girl on Monday...
Clare Elizabeth....
I will be sharing pictures in the near future : )
..................
The kids and I did a little Easter egg dying experiment this week using mostly fruits and vegetables...

I had not heard of dying Easter eggs using fruits and vegetables until
I came across a Better Homes and Garden article on how to make your own dye....
I might be the only person that had not heard of this before : ) .....
The kids and I decided to experiment with making our own dye this year.....



We ended up loving how the eggs turned out.....
We decided that we will be dying our eggs this way from now on....
It was a lot funner then just using tablets and vinegar like we always have done in the past.





These lavender colored speckled eggs were a product of mixing grape juice and vinegar together.
We left the eggs in the solution overnight.
For some reason the eggs had a bubbly film over them in the morning, so the girls rinsed them off
and this is what we ended up with.
We all loved how these turned even if it was by accident.....


A few of the foods we used to create some of our favorite colors....

Red Cabbage, Boiling Water, & Vinegar ~ Robin's Egg Blue
Blueberries & Water ~ Bluish-Gray Eggs
Tumeric, Boiling Water, and Vinegar~ Mustard Yellow Eggs
Brewed Coffee ~ Golden Brown Eggs
Beets, Boiling Water, & Vinegar ~ Pale Pink Eggs




The kids dyed a lot of eggs!
 The eggs turned out a really pretty blue, that were almost the same color as my vintage french zinc pitcher that is in the first image....



Austin and Dustan experimented with their own recipe.....
It was an interesting one.
They combined avocado skins, potato skins, and onion skins.
We added boiling water to their mixture of skins, and let it simmer for five minutes.
We then added vinegar....
They ended up with really nice peach colored eggs : )
They are mixed amongst this pile of eggs somewhere....


We only had one dye that didn't turn out.....
That was the jade green color....
You peel red onion skins and simmer them in water and then add white vinegar,
and this is supposed to produce jade green eggs, instead we ended up with
orange eggs.
I am not sure what we did wrong.....




I also shot the eggs in one of my favorite french farmhouse finds...
I will be adding this vintage french farmhouse egg basket to my shop soon....

*************************

On another note....

Be sure and check out Jennifer Rizzo's beautiful spring collection....

There is still time to enter...
You can also view Jennifer's inspiring lookbook here....

****************************


On a final note...
I wanted to share a sneak peek of the Souvenir Lifestyle Magazine.....
I can hardly wait to see the entire issue!
The launch date is March 20th....
If you haven't already subscribed and are interested in subscribing 
you can do so by visiting the Souvenir Website....
You can also read more about the Souvenir contributors on
 Souvenir's Facebook Page....
I hope you get a chance to check it out!
Thank you Heather Bullard!
I am honored to be apart of Souvenir!

I hope you all enjoy your weekend!!!
Take Care,
Maria

71 comments:

tinajo said...

These eggs look so pretty - love them! :-)

Fågel Blå said...

So beautiful!
Kathrine

Red Door Home said...

Thanks for sharing this great idea. I guess you are not the only one who has never tried dying eggs this way as I have not heard of this before either. I am definitely going to give it a try. Thanks for the inspiration!

Divina Chita Brasil said...

Hi! I loved the eggs!! They look so beautiful!

Rebecca said...

Many blessings to your sister and family on the newest member.
Love the use of natural egg dye...and yours are stunning. My favorite by far are the speckled lavender ones :)
Have a wonderful day ~ Rebecca

Tulla and Catie said...

Best wishes for your sister and the baby. I am looking forward seeing pictures :-).
The photos of the eggs are very nice.
Have a nice day,
Barbara

Amy Chalmers said...

Oh Maria, I love the eggs~I will be doing this too. Those blue and pink eggs are just heavenly.

anna said...

Beautiful easter eggs! Great inspiration!

Low Tide High Style said...

What a fun project, the eggs turned out beautifully. And once again I am in awe of your great photography girl!

Kat :)

Michele M./ Finch Rest said...

So truly beautiful in their pastel awesomeness.

They're Dreamy for sure!!

Ty for the post about Jennifer Rizzo - wow what a collection and what a generous giveaway!!! Appreciate the heads up, thanks!

Melaine Thompson said...

THAT'S IT! YOU YOU NEED TO BE A PHOTOGRAPHER. I AM NOT KIDDING. CAN YOUR PICTURES GET ANY BETTER. WHY DON'T YOU WRITE A BOOK MARIA? SERIOUSLY, I FEEL LIKE GOING AND DYING SOME EGGS BY MYSELF WHEN MY KIDS ARE AT SCHOOL! DID YOU SEE MY COOKBOOK POST TODAY? THINK YOU SHOULD MAKE ONE! I USED A BUNCH OF PHOTOS IN MY BOOK THAT I TOOK AT YOUR HOUSE! :) LOVE YOU!

p.s. can you pls turn your word verification off? :)

Garden Antqs Vintage said...

Those are the prettiest blue eggs I ever seen. I'll have to try that but you would think with purple cabbage you get a reddish color? How fun.

Svenja said...

congrats to your sister and her newborn :))
i like your eggs a lot, i always dye them with vegetables.. :)
looks so cute!
have a nice day, svenja

Sandra van Doorn said...

Beautiful post, the photos are just beautiful! Congratulation to your sister for the little princess...

Lilla Blanka said...

Hi Maria!

It looks absolutely gorgeous! Your beautiful pictures makes me want to start boiling and coloring eggs right away :)

Wishing you a lovely day! ♥
Mia

Anonymous said...

Hi Maria,
I love how the eggs turned out. I'm going to try this with my boys, I think they'll have a blast dying eggs like this.
Thank you for the tips and the gorgeous photos.
Hope you have a lovely day.
Sincerely,
Melinda

Jennifer said...

Many blessings to your sister and her baby girl! And the eggs are just beautiful!

Sew a Fine Seam said...

Those are really really beautiful.
how long do the eggs last without getting yucky??

The Altered Bee said...

So pretty! I did something similar about a hundred years ago. Martha Stewart had something where you layered the eggs with small leaves or ferns,onion skins and then cheesecloth. Then boiled in a vinegar and water mixture. However, I like your colors much better...more vibrant.

The Antique Gardener said...

Absolutely beautiful post Maria! I love how the eggs turned out....I'm going to try it with Jack and Emma too. Such beautiful pictures! Can't wait to see Souvenir....it is going to be great! Hope to see you soon!

Morwenna Hill said...

Many congratulations to your sister and family on the birth of Clare Elizabeth :)
When we were little we used to dye eggs using beetroot and onion skins and I don't know why we ever stopped?! Thank you for reminding me how fun and charming it is do this simple and beautiful craft. I will most certainly be doing it again!
Morwenna

Anonymous said...

My grandfather always put together small Easter baskets for his 28 grandchildren. In each little basket were eggs that were died with onion skins and a handful of jelly beans. The eggs were beautiful, mottled shades of brown. So lovely! To do this, Grandpa tied onion skins in cheese cloth and then added this to the pan while boiling the eggs. Your eggs are so pretty!

Jacqueline said...

Your eggs look so good...I especially love the speckled ones!!! So pretty.

Vitt hus med svarta knutar said...

I love your beautiful easter eggs! The colours are just wonderful.

Greetings from Sweden!
Regina

Peggy said...

Your dyed eggs are stunning! When our boys were younger we used natural dyes but stopped somewhere along the way. I think its an activity we are going to have to start back up this year. The fizzy coating on your mottled eggs is caused by the vinegar slowly dissolving the egg shell which in turn causes a mottled surface.

And congratulations on your newest niece! How exciting!! And it good to know that they are both doing well.

Maria at Olive + White said...

Oh, they turned out beautifully. I love the soft hues. Well done!

All Things Chic 2 said...

First of all we have more in common then I thought!!! My daughter's name is Mary Claire Elizabeth...Your sister chose a lovely name for her little daughter...If you check out my blog you will see a pic of Mary Claire...And the eggs are amazing , always enjoy my visit's...Blessings Lori

Rachel Noelle Pallas said...

I love how you are always doing projects and crafts with your kiddos! That is wonderful..I need to work on that! lol.. Have a great weekend Maria~ xo

The Green Mum said...

Maria I love this......thank you for the reminder about using natural products to dye our eggs! I wanted to share something with you from a friend of mine in Australia,
Silk Neck Tie Egg Dyeing, this is really interesting, thought you would appreciate this!
http://snapsandblabs.com/blog/2647/silk-tie-dyed-eggs

Hope to see you again soon! Many BLESSINGS Zizi from The Green Mum

a Lady & a Tramp said...

oh, such lovely pics of that! Was just starting countdown to easter. Love the natural looking eggs! =)

codice promozione said...

Its beautiful easter egg. Also you share great idea for make egg using fruits and vegetables. Its too good post.

Rozmeen said...

Lovely and great idea.

Wishing you a great weekend.

xoxo Rozmeen

Thuis Thuis said...

Love your blog.
Such nice pastels.
I will follow you.
Lovely weekend.
Greatings Annette

Isabel G. Ruisánchez said...

What a lovely blog... and post! Very sweet... Following you from Llanes (Spain).
http://unmomentoparamicercadeti.blogspot.com/

Lana said...

Hi Maria,
Love the Easter Eggs, they are so much nicer than the bright colored ones, and looks fun to experiment with different foods. I pinned a photo to pinterest and referenced your blog. The wire egg basket is perfect for the eggs.
Congratulations to your sister for the delivery of a healthy baby girl.

Laurel Stephens said...

This is a great way to teach kids that natural dyes existed in nature before the grocery store sold Pass Easter Egg kits. Fun and educational! Thanks!

Vio said...

Yay for your new little niece! I am the 9th of 10 children too :) Your sister must be as grand as my mum!

I love your pretty egg post.

Cook me tender said...

Hi Martha! Today I discovered your blog! Looks so cute!!! I´m writting you from Barcelona... This post is very interesting and beautiful of course, I share it in my facebook. Thanks for share this!!

Marge said...

Just found here:)
Your blog is beautiful!!
I`ll come back;)
Greetings from Finland,
Marge

aventurasalemanas said...

Lovely blog, I have discovered it, and I will follow it, regards and happines.

Anne Marie said...

Hi Maria! That is wonderful news about Monica!!! How very blessed she is...praying she's doing well...and baby Clare too

you look beautiful on your sidebar btw...so pretty

thanks for the dye idea...I think we might try this here!
God bless,
Anne Marie

Cielo Azul Jewelry said...

I just got my issue today of BHG. I was hoping that it would be a lot of fun=0) Yours turned out just wonderful=0)

xoxo,
Carol

payroll services said...

Fruits and vegetable is most important part for stay healthy. You give fantastic idea for easter egg making by use fruits and vegetables.

LA VIE EN ROSE said...

Beautiful pics - as always! Great idea, must try this for my Easter table!!

Sharon

Anonymous said...

This I will definitely try!
The eggs look beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! Where have you bought the lovely cake stand? Thanks, Camilla from Sweden

Unknown said...

Such pretty photos !!

Amelie said...

Soo beautiful!!! / Amelie

Paula said...

SUCH beautiful images. You've inspired me to try this out for myself - which is no mean feat - I usually just sigh and swoon over other peoples efforts! Thank you!

Burlap Luxe said...

Love your eggs !!

Perfectly sweet!
xx
Dore

ricky said...

This blog is content amazing information about Easter decoration which is very useful for me. It very important information about Easter festival.
Thank you very much for this great information.
Easter Egg Decoration

Anonymous said...

LOVELY PICS:) I really like your blog and will happily follow:)
I wish you a great week.

LOVE Maria at inredningsvis.se
(Sweden)

DownTheLaneWithDaisy said...

Very pretty colors. I've discovered a local farmer who has chickens that lay blue or green eggs....soft pastels. I was thrilled to find them. Yours look beautiful and is a fun project.

Apple Blossom Barn said...

Hi

What a lovely idea dying eggs and we have lots of eggs from our chickens and ducks,
your home is simply divine!

Best wishes from Ireland

Denise

Splenderosa said...

Hi Maria...my adult daughter just saw this post & your website and was completely blown away. She is thinking of starting a Texas hill country store (online & real) and wants to know if you photograph your merchandise yourself. We both see that your shop is doing very well!!
I cannot tell you how much I admire you, I remember when you just started your blog. Sending love....

Melissa Sweet Society said...

Thanks so much for this fantastic inspiring post, it's a great child friendly activity I look forward to doing with my three boys! I have shared it on our page http://www.facebook.com/TheSweetSocietyAU.
Melissa x

mary alice said...

great post, love using fruits and vegetables, no telling what is in those little color pills we have been using for years, thank you

Janae said...

Wow those are so gorgeous!!!! you are so creative!!!

JoyHey said...

Love this! Such pretty tones :) Thanks for sharing. Trackback: http://blog.joyhey.com/2012/04/04/inspiration-bright-easter/ ‎

Mike said...

10th child. Your sister is a making making machine.

Loretta E. said...

I've been blowing out eggs the past few days trying to accumulate enough to decorate a small tree. And now I know exactly how to color them. Your shots are gorgeous by the way!

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Unknown said...

Hi. You can also put leaves or small flower heads and secure them to the egg with a peace of nylon stocking before dyeing and you will have the shape of them on the eggs once you have taken off the stocking.