Easter tips

[pegkerr]

A couple tips from curbly_diymaven: Dye your Easter eggs using old silk ties, for a beautiful, mess-free result.

What you’ll need:
-Silk ties
-Eggs
-White rags (like an old t-shirt or sheet)
-Rubber bands
-Household Vinegar

What to do:
1. Cut silk ties into square pieces of fabric (large enough to cover an egg).
2. Cut even larger squares out of the white rags.
3. Place egg in center of a silk square, with the printed side facing the egg. Wrap fabric around the egg.
4. Place silk-wrapped egg on white square. Gather edges and secure the "sack" with a rubber band.
5. Place eggs in large non-aluminum pot. Fill with enough water to cover the eggs.
6. Add a few glugs of vinegar to the pot; bring water to a boil. Reduce heat; let simmer 25 minutes.
7. Use a slotted spoon to remove eggs from water and let cool before removing the fabric.
8. For more vibrantly colored eggs, wipe with a little vegetable oil once dry.









Then, instead of using that tacky, plastic "Easter grass," nestle your eggs in sprouted wheat grass:





See this post for other green suggested alternatives to plastic Easter grass.

Comments

[naomikritzer]

Wow, those are GORGEOUS.

I wonder if it's possible to do something like that with a blown egg? I experimented with blowing out the egg insides last year or the year before, and it's not too hard. And then you can keep your gorgeous egg as a (fragile) decoration.

It's a bit late this year to make sprouted wheat grass.

Our nod to a green Easter is to use the same baskets every year. In fact, the girls use them year round as the storage cache for their stash of treats. The night before Easter they get cleaned out and then left on the table for the Easter bunny to fill, just like you'd leave a stocking out for Santa.

[bohemianspirit.livejournal.com]

It's a bit late this year to make sprouted wheat grass.

I bet you could find some, ready-grown at a place like Tao Natural Foods, or one of the co-ops, where they make healthy drinks and smoothies. Worth asking, if it really interests you. ;-)

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've definitely seen it for sale at local co-ops.

[naomikritzer]

You are probably right. I have to stop at the co-op for some of the not-yet-bought Easter basket goodies (red dye 40 free M&M knock-offs, specifically) so I may ask. Because it's very pretty.

[bohemianspirit.livejournal.com]

That is really cool. It even combines the coloring with the cooking! I'm not bothering with eggs this year, but I'm adding this to memories for future reference. I'll bet I can find old silk ties at secondhand stores.

Re: grass, I usually prefer to find paper grass, rather than using plastic, but the sprouted wheatgrass looks pretty cool, too. ;-)

[avengangle.livejournal.com]

That is insanely cool! And it looks like the craziest ties (ones that no one but my old Solfege prof would wear) would make the best eggs . . .

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Those are absolutely gorgeous! *love* Are the dyes from silk ties safe to use on food, I wonder? But holy wow...just beautiful eggs.

I use shredded paper "easter grass", which feels better to the touch anyway & never gets all static-clingy.

[kate-schaefer.livejournal.com]

Very few of the dyes used on silk ties are safe to use on food. Those brilliant colors are often made with metals, none of which you want inside your body.

[rachet.livejournal.com]

Wow. Just....wow!

My brother was allergic to artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, BHA, BHT, etc., growing up. My mom dyed our eggs with beets, onions, turnips, etc. They were pretty but dull.

But THIS...amazing. Wish we had known about this 20 years ago. :)

I'm sending this to my mom. She'll enjoy it, too.

[(Anonymous)]

Pag--That is a cool dyeing method! I'm going to save it to my Memories. Thanks for passing it along!

Chantal