A cool egg dyeing hack that I’ve been doing for years.
Starting with a super simple egg dyeing project that mimics the look of natural egg dyeing with store bought dye. I love the accessibility of those inexpensive ($2 or $3) egg kits you can buy at the grocery store this time of year. But I’m not a huge fan of the super bright, bold colors, for the most part.
So, I came up with a way to use those store kits in a way that feels a little more grown up, color wise, with one simple change. Use brown eggs instead of white. Pretty simple, right? I started doing it back in 2015 and I don’t think I’ve dyed eggs any other way since.
Unique Egg Dyeing
It’s no secret that I tend to lean towards neutrals and earthy tones, over bright, bold colors. So, it makes sense that when I do my Easter egg dyeing, chances are, I’m going for a more muted look.
I originally published this post in 2015, back when I started dyeing eggs this way. But I wanted to add more details and republish because this is one of my go-to projects every year around Easter time. It all started almost by accident… there were no white eggs at the store when I went, so I tried brown eggs instead and loved the result.
Now it’s my favorite, and kind of only, way I like to dye eggs. The end results are somewhere in between earthy colors and brighter ones. And I love the variation in each one. You never know what you’re going to get, even within the same dye batch. Here’s how you make ’em…
Materials
To get more subtle looking egg colors like these, all you need are:
- 1 dozen brown eggs
- one standard dyeing kit like this
- vinegar
Steps for Egg Dyeing
1. I just followed the directions on the packaging (let the tablet dissolve in 1 tablespoon of vinegar, then add 1/2 cup of room temperature water, before dipping eggs).
The longer you leave the eggs in, the deeper the color will get. Blue was my favorite, but the dye will work with other colors on brown eggs as well.
The lightest eggs in the photos, were only in the dye bath for 30-60 seconds. The more vibrant eggs were in a bit longer than that. And the deep colored eggs were in for 3-5 minutes.
I love all of the imperfections that come through with this technique. The dye tends to be a little less even, the dots on the eggs show through, etc. Which I actually prefer over completely perfect looking eggs. What about you?
Unique Egg Dyeing with Inexpensive Grocery Store Supplies
Ingredients
- 1 dozen brown eggs
- one standard dyeing kit
- vinegar
Instructions
I just followed the directions on the packaging (let the tablet dissolve in 1 tablespoon of vinegar, then add 1/2 cup of room temperature water, before dipping eggs).
- The longer you leave the eggs in, the deeper the color will get. Blue was my favorite, but the dye will work with other colors on brown eggs as well.
- The lightest eggs in the photos, were only in the dye bath for 30-60 seconds. The more vibrant eggs were in a bit longer than that. And the deep colored eggs were in for 3-5 minutes.
- I love all of the imperfections that come through with this technique. The dye tends to be a little less even, the dots on the eggs show through, etc. Which I actually prefer over completely perfect looking eggs. What about you?
Concept, photography, and styling by Brittni Mehlhoff
Once dry, you can keep them plain, or do some additional decorating….
- doodle with permanent marker
- create artist portraits with pastels
- go for a more painterly look
- graffiti it up, etc.
Are you doing any egg dyeing this year? What do you think of these as an option?
13 comments | Click here to reply
Breath-taking one!! Keep up the Good work
Nippon[…] 1. Start by dyeing brown eggs in a color similar to the nail polish colors you selected. For example, I used blue and green nail polish, so I dyed the brown eggs I used blue and green. I like to use brown eggs instead of white ones because it give more unique and muted colors. More about this process here: my #1 Easter egg hack. […]
Easter DIY to Try: Rothko Inspired Easter Eggs - Paper and StitchLove this idea, great blog post 🙂
ISOSCELLΔUm. This is so simple and yet so clever. It’s funny how the best solutions are often the simplest!
KaitThanks for advice how to get different colors!
I usually use brown eggs for everyday and for coloring too, I love to do it in “Latvian”. Just Google Latvian Easter and you will find a lot of beautiful Easter eggs.
ElinaThese are so cool, love the idea, thanks for the inspiration. Love your blog by the way. Check out my Things I’ve Made page! 🙂 xoxo Heidie http://www.theinspirationmagazine.com
HeidieLove these colors B! Never thought about dyeing brown eggs. Who knew!?
Kelly @ Studio DIYI LIKE those. I think I will spatter them with brownish paint via a toothbrush so they look like Easterly robins’ eggs!
HeidiBrown egg shells look good with green and blue dye but horrible with yellow and orange and pink. It’s very hard to find white eggs where I live but some backyard growers have them…it’s always a struggle to get enough. One year I gave up and painted foam eggs with acrylic…not quite as earthy but a lot easier.
jan dashOh, awesome! I hadn’t even thought about how white eggs might not be available in other countries, but I’m glad that this little hack is brown egg friendly. 🙂 Also, if you have any trouble finding dye kits, you can use food coloring, water, and vinegar instead. Hope that helps! Best of luck!
BrittniGreat! I live in the UK now, where it’s nigh on impossible to get white eggs (apart from duck eggs) and am always sad that I don’t get to dye eggs at Easter. (It’s also a bit tricky to get dying kits or else I probably would’ve tried it out before now.) So thank you for the inspiration to finally do some dying this year!
JenniferOh, awesome Kelley! I think you’ll love ’em.
BrittniI love this. We use brown eggs for everyday. Just yesterday I told my daughter we’d try dying them this year, because maybe they’d be cool! Well, I see here that the will be! Thanks for posting, I’m inspired!
kelley