I know you probably wouldn't believe me if I said, "I love how beautiful naturally colored eggs look!" Do you know you can use things right out of your kitchen? The dyes that we are using will keep harmful chemicals away from you precious little ones and keep your hard earned money in your pocket.

The colors are very unusual -- gentle, earthy, soft, and very vibrant, giving your little budding artists the ability to broaden their color palette. The sky is the limit when it comes to these home made colors.

To color these eggs, you boil the eggs with the food, spices or juice, rather than boiling the eggs separately and then dying them. Your children will love helping you "cook" the eggs using their favorites, such as grape juice or the ever popular green apples.

Here are the general directions:

1. Put raw, white-shelled, organically-raised (if you can) eggs in a single layer in a pan. Cover with cold water.

2. Add a little more than a teaspoon of white vinegar.

3. Add the natural food, spice or juice for the color you want your eggs to be. (The more eggs you are dying at a time, the more dye you will need to use, and the more dye you use, the darker the color will be.)

4. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

5. Quickly check the eggs for color by removing them from the dye liquid with a slotted spoon.

6. If the color is as desired, pour off the hot dye liquid and rinse the eggs immediately in cold water to stop the eggs from cooking.

Red to Pink use lots of red onion skins, cranberry juice, or frozen raspberries.
Orange to Yellow use yellow onion skins or orange peels.
Brown to Red use red beet skins, grape juice, or coffee.
Yellow use Saffron, turmeric, cumin, orange or lemon peels, or celery seed.
Green use spinach, carrot tops, or green apple peels.
Blue use red cabbage leaves - they make the most incredible robin's-egg blue.
Burgundy use red wine for a beautiful rich color.
Purple use grape juice.

Tips for successful results:

* Use filtered or distilled water. Chlorine and other chemicals that are contained in some tap water can work against the color, making it less intense.
* For deeper colors, use more food or juices while boiling.
* If you find the eggs are not dark enough in color place the eggs back into the dye and refrigerate.

Make it your own! And most of all have FUN!
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This is an original article written by Tiger and Lily Boutique.

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