Crafty Easter Eggs

Coloring Easter eggs has always been one of my favorites craft projects.  We traditionally use crayon and dye, and this year I added a new tool to the mix: food writing pens.

Food writing pens (Wilton brand-available at Michaels) are made with edible dye which I assume is about the same as food coloring.  I used the black markers on the front and right eggs above, before dipping them in dyed water.  It gave the definition around the flowers a cool looking blotchy-purple effect.  My husband made the little woodland creatures below by sketching on the shells with pencils and painting dyed water onto the shells using q-tips.  He attached the ears and antlers using a hot glue gun.

I was really impressed with my girls' work on these eggs!  What a crafty little bunch!

Check out the recipe below for how to make your own garden of eggs, and enjoy your holiday weekend!

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs:
Not under cooked, not dry, not green around the yolk, peels easily!

Place eggs from the fridge in a single layer in a large soup pot.  Cover the eggs completely with water and bring to a boil over high heat.  Once the water boils, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the eggs to a colander in the sink.  Let the hot eggs rest for about 20 minutes.  If they are still too hot to handle, rinse with cold water.


Decorated Easter Eggs:

Using warm hard boiled eggs, color as desired on the shells using crayons.  Brush chunky bits of wax away using a dry paint brush for a clean look.

Draw on the egg shells, around but not over the wax, using food writing pens.

Prepare disposable cups 1/2 to 2/3 full of water by stirring in about 10 drops of liquid food coloring.  Add a tablespoon of white vinegar to the liquid to intensify the color in the dyed eggs.

Gently drop the eggs, one at a time, into the liquid.  Soak them for few seconds for pale colors, and up to several minutes for bright colors.  You may want to add more food coloring once you're dyeing the eggs if the color isn't bright enough for you.

Definition can be added to your drawings by going over with addition crayon wax after they're dyed.  You can also create a smooth painted-on look with wax by coloring it on really thick and melting it with the tip of a hot glue gun.

And that's it!  Enjoy!