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Natural Egg Dyes

This is for all of you who prefer to do things the natural way!!

Almost any natural ingredient that you can think of (that has a bright colour that will release in hot water) will work well. When using natural dyes, it is a good idea to use distilled water. Chlorine and other chemicals are commonly put into tap water to keep it safe to drink, but the chlorine will also work against the dye, making it less intense.

Working with natural dyes may take longer than working with the store-bought kind, depending on how bright you want the colour of your eggs to be. In order to get the natural dyes to stain the eggs a dark color, you will need to let the eggs sit in the dyes overnight in the refrigerator. If you let the eggs sit in the natural dyes for only a few hours, they will turn out a pastel colour!!

Colour	Colour Sources
Purple:	sliced beets; grape juice concentrate
Yellow:	ground safflower; or ground turmeric
Blue:	canned blueberries (with syrup)
Red:	canned cherries (with syrup)

I'd like to take a second and thank Tammy Weisberger, a writer for Allrecipes.com, for having this wonderful information about the natrual egg dyes on their site. She has many other terrific ideas for egg decorating, as well. So Thanks Tammy!! I love the idea's for the natural colours.

Well I hope that these ideas and recipes come in handy for you all as this Easter approaches. Here's wishing you all a safe, happy, and joyous holiday.

~~~~~~Kali