How To Dye Eggs With Food Coloring

Liz Stanley of Say Yes Studio

Dyeing Easter eggs is one of my favorite things to do with kids during the Easter season. We like to color them a few days before, and then display them on the table for Easter brunch. Below are my most helpful tips for how to dye eggs for Easter, plus some simple ideas for adding personalized patterns.

After you've achieved a vibrant base hue, you can customize with stickers, rubber bands, or tape, or add custom decorations with paint. Though I prefer to hard boil new eggs every Easter, this technique will also work with blown-out eggs that can be displayed year after year as one of your Easter traditions.

To start, of course, you're going to have to boil your eggs. It's easy enough, but we still recommend taking some time to check out our handy guide on how to make hard-boiled eggs. Once you've mastered that step and let the eggs cool, you'll want to follow our step-by-step instructions on how to dye Easter eggs using food coloring for colors that really pop. We've included information on how to keep the hues bright and peppy (rather than diluted and dim). Finally, get creative with whimsical designs, stickers, tape, and more. Have fun!

1. Boil the Eggs

Set clean, dry white eggs in a pot, and add water until they're completely submerged. When the water starts to boil, set a timer for two minutes. Then, turn the heat off and let the eggs sit for 10 minutes. Remove the eggs to let them cool in a bowl, but save the hot water for the dye.

SHOP WOOD BOWLS

2. Prep the Dye Cups

Bring the water back to a boil. Prep one small cup or glass for each color you'd like to use. Add one tablespoon of vinegar to each glass, and then pour in the boiling water.

For the brightest colors, add 10 drops of food coloring to each glass. (If you're mixing shades, use only five drops of each.) Stir until the dye is completely dissolved.

SHOP FOOD COLORING

3. Dye Your Eggs

Place an egg on a spoon, and gently lower it into the dye cup. Be sure to turn it occasionally to ensure an even coating. You can leave the egg in as long as you want, checking every minute or so until it reaches your desired shade.

SHOP FOOD COLORING

4. Let Them Dry

Place a wire cooling rack over a piece of parchment paper and gently lay your eggs on top. Don't try to wipe off or blot the eggs until they're completely dry!

SHOP COOLING RACKS

Get Creative

There are so many fun variations on the basic Easter egg dyeing process. We rounded up a few simple tricks, but feel free to experiment with your own! For each of the ideas below, boil (or blow out) the eggs first, add your customizations, and then dye using the instructions above. Let the eggs dry completely before removing the stickers, tape, or rubber bands.

SHOP NATURAL EGG DYE

Use Stickers

Add small stickers like hearts or letters before dyeing or between dyeing rounds. Use your nail to press the stickers down firmly on the edges for a good seal. Small stickers work best on the eggs due to the rounded shape.

SHOP HEART STICKERS

Try Tape

Use thin tape or washi tape to create linear designs on your eggs. Like the stickers, be sure you're using your nail to press down the edges of the tape so dye won't seep underneath.

SHOP THIN TAPE

Wrap With Rubber Bands

Wrap rubber bands tightly around the eggs before dyeing, or between coats of dye. To ensure a good seal, make sure they're snug—the tighter, the better. Wide, flat rubber bands will help you keep the rubber band from twisting too much.

SHOP RUBBER BANDS

Embrace Imperfections

I love the look of speckled eggs, so I purposefully pick a few eggs in every batch that aren't perfectly smooth and have little bumps. I think they look really cute! Don't worry too much about some little cracks and flaws. Some eggs will turn out perfectly and others might not be what you expect. That's okay! Let the kids enjoy the process. My kids call the cracked eggs "dinosaur eggs" because dye seeps into the fissures and makes cool reptile-esque designs.

SHOP NATURAL EGG DYE

Liz Stanley of Say Yes Studio Liz Stanley is the founder of the award-wining publishing platform SayYes.com and also Say Yes Studio, a full service creative studio for content creation and branded lifestyle photography.

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