Easter eggs – Simple and beautiful decorating techniques

I remember dyeing Easter eggs as a child. It was usually the PAAS kit with the little dye pellets dropped into cups, the wire dipper holding the egg, and the sheet of stickers to apply to the finished eggs – it seemed there were always a couple of coveted designs that we all wanted for our own eggs.

Fast forward to my favorite egg-dyeing memories – those with my daughter. Sometimes with her many cousins (children of the now-grown siblings I used to dye my eggs with as a child). Watching the kid’s faces light up in wonder as the eggs took on new hues, chubby fingers now dyed pink-and-yellow moving eggs from one color cup to another, experimenting with new combinations. These are some of my favorite Easter holiday memories.

In honor of the season, here are some Easter egg dyeing craft techniques that produce beautiful results but are simple enough that kids can manage them, though younger children may need help.

Easter eggs made with a leaf resist print technique

The first technique for dyeing Easter eggs is made using various leaves. The leaf is pressed against the hard boiled egg and held in place by wrapping the whole thing tightly in a sleeve cut from a stocking, then dip-dyed in the stocking. You can use ferns, herb stems, clover, flowers, or even weeds and produce beautiful results. (Idea and photo from Family Fun.)

Crayon resist Easter eggs

I also love these crayon-resist Easter eggs from firstpalette.com. Often you’ll see crayon resist showing one color of crayon only, but I love that they used multiple colors to draw the design before dyeing. Another thing I loved about their post is that they show several methods of getting the dye on the egg, including dipping, painting, and crepe paper staining. I am most intrigued by the crepe paper method, since I’ve never tried it before. In fact, I find First Palette to be a wonderful resource site for crafting with kids, and worth a bookmark.

napkin decoupage Easter eggs

The picture really doesn’t do justice to the beautiful effects you can achieve by decoupaging a pretty spring or Easter themed napkin onto blown-out eggs to create these charming Easter eggs. Since these eggs will be super-fragile, they aren’t suitable for the smallest children, but slightly older kids will get a kick out of learning how to blow an egg. If you’ve never tried it, don’t let that stop you. It really is easy, and you can make decorations that last much longer by emptying the egg. This one comes from Kaboose.com.

For another take on decoupaged Easter eggs, check out this one from Family Fun that uses cut out images for creating beautiful holiday crafts.

Here’s one I really like for kids of any age — in fact, these were made with the help of a young child. These Easter eggs are made using a resist technique using paper hole reinforcement stickers. The versatility of the craft is great, something that can be used to make fairly intricate designs that teens and adults can enjoy, but simple enough that even toddlers can make their own and still expect great results. This photo/instruction set is from The Artful Parent.

You can also use the same technique with any kind of stickers. Letter stickers can be fun, round ones will make spotted eggs, stars would be especially nice, and simple outline shapes will produce good results.

And finally, your child is going to need a place to put all those eggs once they are decorated. You can go with the traditional Easter basket, or how about letting them make their own paper bag-and-twig nest for their Easter eggs. This one is also from Family Fun.

That’s it for today … I hope you have as much fun decorating Easter eggs with your children as I did with mine.