Do-it-yourself ways to add color to Easter

Even though families may not be able to gather for Easter dinner this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they can still enjoy the holiday together with FaceTime, Skype and other video-conferencing apps. One easy way to help embrace the springtime spirit is to decorate Easter eggs, whether you have younger kids or you want to brighten the residence where you’ve been quarantined. With these three simple methods, families can utilize what they already have in the pantry and show off their fancy creations to friends and family. 

Before trying any of these do-it-yourself methods, it is recommended that you cover your kitchen table or counter with parchment paper for easy cleanup and to prevent staining. It is also suggested to wear latex gloves.

Rice eggs

What you need:

• A Ziploc bag (any size will work)
• Uncooked rice
• Hard-boiled eggs (however many you want to decorate)
• Liquid food coloring
• A plastic spoon 
• An empty egg carton

Directions: 

1. Measure out a cup of uncooked rice into a Ziploc bag. 
2. Add 6-10 drops of food coloring directly on the rice in the bag.
3. Use the plastic spoon to stir in the food coloring and color the rice. 
4. Once the rice is completely colored, take one of the hardboiled eggs and place it on top of the colored rice in the bag.
5. Zip the bag, making sure to squeeze some of the air out of the bag.
6. Gently shake the bag or push the egg into the rice to color the egg. 
7. Continue moving the rice and the egg in the bag until you get a pattern and color you like.
8. Use the plastic spoon to take the egg out of the bag and place it into a slot in an empty egg carton (you can use any kind of container to hold the eggs, but I found this was the easiest.) 
9. Leave the egg to dry for 12-24 hours before handling.

10. Repeat steps 4-9 for other eggs you have. You can change the color of the rice by getting a new bag and starting at step 2.

11. You can also double color the eggs by applying one color, letting the egg dry and then repeating steps 2-9 with a second color. If you use two colors, the first color needs to be lighter than the second color in order for the second color to appear on the egg. 

Tie-dyed Eggs

What you need:

• Paper towel
• Rubber band or mini hair tie
• Multiple colors of liquid food coloring
• Hard-boiled eggs (However many you want to decorate)
• Empty egg carton
• Spray bottle filled with water

Directions:

1. Take one of your hard-boiled eggs and wrap a paper towel around it.
2. Tie a rubber band at the top of the egg to hold the paper towel on. 
3. Take one color of food coloring and put drops of color in random places of the paper towel. 
4. Repeat step three with as many other colors as you want until the whole napkin is soaked with color. 
5. Lightly spray the paper towel with water.
6. Take another paper towel, place it over top of the colored towel and gently squeeze to press the color onto the egg.
7. Set the egg, still wrapped with the colored paper towel, in an empty egg carton.
8. Let the egg sit to dry for 4 hours.
9. Cut the rubber band holding the paper towel onto the egg, and slowly peel the paper towel away from the egg.

10. Set the now tie-dyed egg back in the egg carton and let dry for another 12 hours.

11. Repeat steps 1-9 with as many hard-boiled eggs as you would like to decorate.

Oil and Water Eggs

What you Need:

• Hard-boiled eggs (however many you want to decorate)
• A bowl or cup
• Water
• Vegetable oil
• Plastic spoons
• Empty egg carton
• Liquid food coloring

Directions:

This method for coloring eggs can be used to make two-color eggs or single-colored eggs. For single-colored eggs, Skip steps 1-5.

1. The first step is to dye all of the eggs you want to decorate a light color. Fill a bowl with a cup of water and add 6-10 drops of whatever color you would like.
2. Using a plastic spoon, lower an egg into the water and move it throughout the mix for 1-2 minutes until it becomes a shade you like.
3. Use the spoon to scoop the egg out of the water and place it in an empty egg cartoon.
4. Let dry for 2 hours.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 for the number of eggs you want to die.
6. When the colored eggs are dry, fill a bowl with a cup of water and add 10-12 drops of a darker color of food coloring.
7. Once the color is mixed into the water, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil into the bowl.
8. Lightly stir in the oil.
9. Using a plastic spoon, lower one of the colored eggs into the oil/water mix.

10. Gently move the egg around until the egg is the color and pattern you want. 

11. Place the egg back to dry in the egg carton. Let sit for 12 hours.

12. Repeat steps 8-11 for the rest of the eggs you want to die. You may have to add more food coloring and oil to the water depending on how many eggs you color.

Contact Tier Morrow with comments at tkmorrow@bsu.edu or on Twitter @tiermorrow. 

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