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How to dye Easter eggs using all natural ingredients!

If you know me, you know that in the past few years I’ve been more intentional in trying to live a toxin-free lifestyle. Once I realized how many chemicals are found in so many products I used to use every day, I’ve made it my mission to make as many natural swaps as possible. So, when it came time to dye eggs this year, I really wanted to try making my own dyes from food scraps. I am so pleased with how the colors turned out, and I’m excited to share with you what I did so you can try it, too!

As far as ingredients, you’ll need

  • hardboiled eggs
  • water
  • vinegar
  • tumeric (approximately 3 tbsp)
  • purple cabbage (4 cups chopped)
  • beets (do NOT use canned; fresh is best. You’ll need 4 cups chopped)
  • onion skins (4 cups; that’s skins from about 12 onions)

To make each dye, you’ll add to a pot

  • main ingredient – tumeric OR cabbage OR beets OR onion skins. Put this in first, then add
  • 4 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons white vinegar

Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and let simmer for 45 minutes. Then strain the dye solution into a bowl and let it cool completely. Once cooled, you can start dyeing your eggs! Use a slotted spoon to immerse/remove eggs. Here are some color combinations you can try!

  • yellow: soak eggs in tumeric solution. Check after 30 minutes but continue to soak until desired color is achieved.
  • orange: soak eggs in onion skin solution. Check after 30 minutes but continue to soak until desired color is achieved.
  • pink: soak eggs in beets solution. Check after 30 minutes but continue to soak until desired color is achieved.
  • blue: soak eggs in purple cabbage solution. Check after 30 minutes but continue to soak until desired color is achieved.
  • lavender: soak eggs in beet solution for 30-45 minutes to get a good base pink color. Then soak in the cabbage solution for about 15 minutes or longer until you get the desired color.
  • chartreuse (green): soak eggs in tumeric solution for approximately 30 minutes. Then soak in the cabbage solution for 15 minutes or longer until you get the desired shade of green.

That’s it! Super easy, right? Let me know if you give these a try!