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11 Fun Ways to Dye Easter Eggs + How to Make Homemade Egg Dye

Who knew there were so many different ways to dye Easter Eggs? We’re sharing some of our favorites, and giving you a simple homemade egg dye recipe to try as well!

circle egg holder full of dyed easter eggs with dye cups in background

Making brightly colored eggs with the family is one of the most loved Easter traditions—for both young and old!

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This year take a fun twist on things by adding different ways to dye or decorate the eggs, including ones that kids will love trying out.

While you’re prepping the table for a major egg dyeing session, print out this cute Easter Unicorn Coloring Page to keep little hands busy while you set up!

Why are there eggs for Easter?

Easter is a time for Christians around the world to celebrate that Christ lives! Christians adopted the symbol of the egg representing Jesus breaking forth from the tomb.

vibrant easter eggs in straw with cross next to them

11 Cool Ways to Dye Easter Eggs

These are some easy and unique ways to dye Easter Eggs—pick out a few and give them a try!

  1. Draw on the eggs with white crayons. Everywhere you put, the drawings will still be white after you put the egg in the dye.
  2. Place the egg inside a kitchen whisk for easy swishing and to draw the egg out of the dye easily. Simply separate the sections of the whisk to remove the egg.
  3. Glitter your eggs rather than dye them. Mix glue and water evenly and paint over the eggs. Sprinkle with fine glitter and display. It can still be eaten during Easter dinner.
  4. For marbled eggs, place one teaspoon of oil into the dye. The oil will cause the dye to stick to the egg in unusual patterns.
  5. Instead of dipping the eggs, try painting the dye on with a paintbrush. Kids love this, and it actually turns out less messy than the other way of doing it, at least in my experience.
  6. Allow eggs to dry from the dye and then apply thin, small stickers. These can be found at your local craft store. Some great stickers can be found in nail design kits, and these can most often be found at the dollar stores.
  7. Soak some tissue paper in water. It will color the water, and you can dip the eggs in. Dry the eggs on a towel and put a thin layer of glue on them. Then wrap the wet tissue paper around them and let dry. These eggs will be like opening a pinata when it comes time to eat them.
  8. Create designs in masking tape, applying the tape directly to the egg. Dip the egg in dye and pull out. Allow to dry and remove the masking tape. This is a fun way to write letters using thin pieces of tape. Kids can write their names, or Happy Easter, or the names of grandparents who would be pleased to receive such a surprise.
  9. Sponge paint your eggs using small fingertip size sponges. Place a sponge in every color of dye and let them go for it. If they want to continue painting when you run out of eggs, give them some typing paper and let them make placemats for special times. You can allow these to dry and keep them in a drawer to pull out on special occasions.
  10. To dye the eggs, place them in a colander. Drop small amounts of the food coloring directly over the eggs, and then pour a large cup of water over them. Allow a few minutes between each color, so the dyes don’t run completely together.
  11. You can also use a Cricut or other cutting machine to apply vinyl designs to easter eggs. Use bunnies, chicks, a cross, or other Easter related designs or words to decorate real or wooden eggs.
different ways to decorate easter eggs in collage
Watercolor easter eggs after having been dyed

How to make your own Easter egg dye at home

Easter egg dye can get expensive! Here is an easy and versatile way to make your own dye from home while getting all the colors you need.

dyed easter eggs with easter with vinyl on them in collage

For the dye:

  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • one teaspoon food coloring in your choice of color
  • and one teaspoon white vinegar

Easter Egg Coloring Mixing Chart

Most food coloring boxes come in four basic colors: red, blue, yellow, and green. To make colors that are not in your box, use a half teaspoon each of the following color combinations.

  • Teal: green and blue
  • Purple: red and blue
  • Brown: green and red
  • Pink: use only 1/2 tsp of red instead of a whole teaspoon
  • Orange: yellow and red
  • Grassy Green: green and yellow
Brightly colored rainbow infographic with information on how to make homemade egg dye, color combinations on a Easter Egg color mixing chart, and tips for getting great colors when dyeing eggs from Party + Bright.

Martha Stewart has a great visual of how different amount of drops and time left in cups can produce different colors. Check it out here.

Keep the creativity going: Once Easter is over, and the eggs are peeled to make egg salad, use the shells to make a colorful mosaic. Gather all the shells together and crush. Then simply glue them to construction paper in the desired shape.

Be sure to pin this post and the color mixing chart to your Easter board on Pinterest so you remember all of the different ways to dye Easter eggs plus tips for getting great colors when the time comes!

DIY easter egg dye and text 10 ways to dye easter eggs

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