Coloring Easter Eggs

Coloring Easter eggs is an art form and can be as inventive as the person who does it. The vibrant purples, blues and greens mixed with the bright pinks, oranges and yellows are the only way to identify the eggs in the tall grass. It is hard to decide how to decorate the eggs with so many choices available. Should I get very fancy or just stick to traditional eggs?

      First I have to get the eggs out of the refrigerator. I will use at least two dozen eggs for this project. The eggs can be any size, as long as they are not already cracked or broken. I will also need a large saucepan, white vinegar and some coloring tablets.

      First I need to place the eggs into the saucepan and place it on the stove. I turn the burner on high and place a lid on the pot. While I am waiting for the eggs to boil, I can prepare the colored water I am going to use to dye the eggs.

     I go the cabinet and take out six cups. These will be used to hold the vinegar and water for the tablets. I pour a half cup of vinegar into each cup. I also add a half cup of water to each cup and then place one color tablet into each cup.

     As I stir the first cup, I can see the water is turning bright blue. It is the blue of sea water and very bright. The next cup is a bright purple and reminds me of grape juice. The third cup is orange and is the color of the fruit. The fourth cup is lemon yellow, the fifth is the color of the lawn green crayon and the sixth is a rose color.

     The eggs are boiling now and will take about twenty minutes to cook completely. Once the eggs are finished cooking, I take them to the sink to drain them. After they are drained, I fill the pan with cold water to help cool the eggs faster. After I have changed the water four or five times, the eggs are cool enough to work with and I begin.

     I start by placing one egg into each cup of the vinegar and water mixture. Immediately the eggs begin to pick up light tones of the color in the cup. I poke at the eggs a bit to get the submerged in the liquid. As I wait, I clean up mess from the eggs and tablets, throwing the waste in the garbage can.

     I go back to check the eggs and when I place a spoon under the egg in the blue cup and raise the egg; it is a light robin egg color. I want it much darker do I replace it in the solution. The rest of the eggs yield the same results. I find a light orange, pale yellow, mint green, pale pink and lavender egg in the following cups.

     After almost twenty minutes of waiting, I have the shade wanted. The eggs are very brightly colored now and I take them out of the cups and place them on a plate to dry. I take six more eggs and begin the process all over again. These eggs will be colored just like the first ones.

     I decide to experiment a little with the third batch while I am coloring the second batch. I grab a wax crayon and start writing names of family members on the eggs. It is hard to read but I think it will turn out alright.

     It has been twenty minutes and I take the eggs out of the cups one at a time. The brilliant blue, purple, orange, yellow, pink and green are just what I was trying to get. I submerge the next batch of eggs into the cups. These are the ones that I just wrote names on and I wait to see if this works.

      While I am waiting for the third batch to be finished, I examine the eggs I have colored so far. They are very bright and should be easy to find in the egg hunt. There are prizes for the most eggs so it is important that they are very bright and you have good eyesight to find them.

     The third batch is done and I pull the first egg out. It has the name “Dad” on it and it turned out fine. The rest of them are just as good. They are all brightly colored with a name on them where the color didn’t stick because of the wax crayon.

     It is time for the last batch and I place the eggs in the cups one by one. I take the eggs that are already dried and place them into an empty egg carton. The eggs leave stains of color on my fingers.

     The timer goes off after twenty minutes and I take the last batch of eggs out of the cups. The colors are just as bright as the first batch. These are very good Easter eggs and I place them with the rest.

    I mark the egg carton “Easter” and place it in the refrigerator to stay overnight. I clean the table off and dump the color mixture down the sink. I run hot water and dish soap into the sink and wash the cups in it. I rinse them in hot water and dry them with a dish towel.

     I place the cups back into the cabinet and wash the eggs pan. I dry it with the dishcloth and put it back where it goes. I turn off the lights in the kitchen and head out.

     The eggs will be used in the Easter egg hunt for the underprivileged tomorrow and they are bright enough to be found easily. It is a job well done.