Natural Dye Easter Eggs


onion skin eggs
Originally uploaded by rosidae

Hi, it’s that time of year.
I love making eggs using onion skins, which my mother showed me as a wee bean, probably out of a ’70s Sunset magazine.

Now I make them every year and invite a couple friends round to share the love. Usually it’s 2-3 girlfriends, but this time we set up our workshop in the back garden and had about 10 friends over for a big brunch. Must have made 8+ dozen eggs! And only three casualties.

Here are some highlights!

lavender egggeranium eggOsterspermum eggOxalis egg - flowersOxalis egg - leaf
I use simple yellow/brown onion skins, boiled in water, with some vinegar added once the dye is extracted from the skins.
I use unboiled eggs, and they boil as they are dyed, about 8 minutes.
I use flowers and leaves from my garden, and let my friends get creative with their own flowers and design ideas.

The flowers and leaves are held in place using cut on nylon stocking, as illustrated here:

Natural Dye Easter Eggs

Some of the flowers and leaves also imprint a color on the eggs. So pretty! And aftwards, I very lightly rub on a little vegetable oil, to make them shine.

Later – egg salad!