On Dyeing Eggs. And Coming Alive!

I’m almost ready for Easter, now that I’ve cleared out the leftover Valentine’s paraphinilia, brought some greens in, thought about planting seeds, gotten my life back, and then got buried in seven inches of snow. Ok, so maybe not quite ready for Easter, but I’m definitely ready for Spring!

Ready for baby chicks and robin eggs and the color green.

I love to watch the earth come alive this time of the year. And I love that we have a holiday that celebrates life, resurrection, and hope, in the middle of it. I am a believer in all of those things.

Even though it’s one of my favorite holidays, I haven’t done much to celebrate it in the past few years, other than what I would normally do: go to church and worship, then have dinner with friends or family afterward.

It somehow slips by me, every year! Seems like I’m either six weeks pregnant, or moving, or just moved, or my kitchen is being renovated…or something.

Last year, we had just moved across the country, but I managed to make these little babies and bring them to Easter dinner at my Mom’s. I got the idea from here: http://bigsislilsis.com/2010/03/31/easter-birds-nest-candy/ and tweaked the recipe a bit, but they were still super easy and they were a total hit with the kids!

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This time however, I wanted to do more. Not that much, but just…well, color some eggs. Real Easter eggs.

I’ve been wanting to dye eggs since I was a half-grown child and I’ve decided that this year, I would make it happen, Easter or not. Those of you who know me, know that I adore eggs, in any form. Not as in, eating them. But as in, admiring them.

Their delicate design speaks to me of birth and hope and new beginnings. The cycle of life. I like them in nests, surrounded by feathers, hidden in branches, large, small, fake, real, speckled, blue, green, and brown.

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They make me want to be a bird, just so I can sit on my little nest all day, and chirp when it’s time for my lover to bring me some food. I mean…wouldn’t that be a grand life?!

Ok, so maybe I have some weird fantasies, but…seriously. If you are a mother, you can’t tell me that doesn’t sound at least a little appealing, at times.

Anyway, I got my twenty-year old wish the other day: I got to be a child again and color some eggs! And I got to do it, with who else, but some of my favorite little people: my daughter, and my sister’s kids.

I mixed up a bunch of colors in glass pint jars and took them up to my sister’s house, along with some aprons, and a big pot of vegetable soup. She was getting company the next day, so I wanted the clean-up to be as easy as possible, and keep the aftermath to a minimum for her.

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I got the jar idea from Sherelle Christensen at: http://sherellechristensen.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/04/dyeing-easter-eggs.html  and it worked beautifully.

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Somewhere on pinterest I had seen the idea to use a whisk for dipping the eggs into the dye. That worked pretty well, except that it’s a bit difficult getting the drippy wet eggs out of the whisk, without getting color all over your hands (or your kids’s!), which is exactly what we were trying to avoid. I still prefer to use a spoon.

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It quickly became a family affair, when my Mom, Huzbun, and sisters all joined in, helping and watching the kids with their creations. Even their neighbor, Logan, got in on the action!

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Some got fancy and double dipped them to make multi-colored eggs. I got fancy and wrapped mine in various ribbon and laces, to add some texture.

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This little guy got fancy and splashed most of his color onto his surroundings…

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And others were a bit more serious about it.:)

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But we all had a blast!

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And the eggs turned out gorgeous. Just look at these colors!

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I had such a great time doing this, I think we might make it a yearly tradition. Unless, of course, I’m six weeks pregnant. Or moving. Or renovating…

Aahh.

Not only was it a super-fun family event, but it fulfilled a long-time desire for me. I am happy. I feel satisfied.

And now, bring on Easter. Bring on Spring!

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