How beautiful are these Easter eggs!?! Ever since I was a kid and read about dying eggs in onion skins in a nature-craft book, I’ve wanted to try it. I couldn’t believe how easy they were to make and how bright and colorful they turned out! The orange-brownish eggs were dyed in the onion skins, while the bluish ones were dyed using red cabbage. And no, you don’t need to buy a whole bunch of onions to get the skins. Just ask the nearest grocer at the store, and they’ll be happy to let you and the kids dig through the onion bin! You’ll find plenty there! It did not take long at all to dye the eggs in onion skins, while the ones dyed with red cabbage soaked over-night. Just takes a little patience!
Materials needed:
- white eggs
- onion skins
- red cabbage
- medium-sized pot
- water
- small flowers, leaves, herbs
- old pantyhose or knee highs
- twist ties
First, fill your pot up completely with onion skins. Then, fill with water, leaving a couple inches of space for the eggs.
Do the same with the red cabbage, chopping the cabbage first.
Next, put both pots on the stove and turn on high to boil. Let the water simmer for about 5 minutes, then turn the pots off. Let them sit and cool for 5 hours or overnight.
To prepare the eggs to dye, to get the beautiful nature prints on them, gather small leaves and flowers from your garden. We even used some weeds with interesting leaf shapes!
Cut your pantyhose or knee-highs in small sections. We used knee highs. I cut them in half and then with the top portion, I cut a slit up the side. With the bottom half, it was easy to just place the egg inside.
Press a flower or leaf onto the egg and carefully wrap the pantyhose around it. Dipping the leaves in water first makes them stick to the eggs a bit easier.
Twist the pantyhose in the back and secure with a twist tie.
Now to dye the eggs! Place your eggs into the pots, making sure they are completely submerged in the water.
Put the pots back onto the stove and bring them to a boil again. Turn down to low heat, and let the pots for 20-30 min.
After the water cools a bit, carefully remove the eggs soaking in the onion skins and dry them off a bit on a towel.
Cut the pantyhose and the eggs will come out carefully. So cool!!!
Place the pot with the red cabbage and eggs in your refrigerator and let them sit up to 24 hrs. Then do the same…removing them from the water and cutting the pantyhose off.
To make your eggs shine, you can wet a paper towel with vegetable oil and gently rub it onto each egg. Such a naturally beautiful way to celebrate Spring, Easter, or Naw Ruz!!!
