# How do you like to color Easter eggs? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 27, 2006, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090 "2006-03-27T15:15:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![specie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@specie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/specie)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090/1 "2006-03-27T15:15:58Z")
I draw faces with kids’ non-toxic coloring pens. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090/2 "2006-03-27T16:34:10Z")
[Pysanky](http://www.learnpysanky.com/). We actually did this one year for Easter. Easter eggs for the seriously anal-retentive. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090/3 "2006-03-27T20:20:38Z")
Did you see Martha Stewart’s column on chocolate-filled Easter eggs? [Real eggs, filled with chocolate.](http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/life/homegarden/food/article_1068536.php) I seriously thought about pitting her for that. She is batshit crazy. Here are some ideas for natural dyes (I’d link you to the published article, but they didn’t post it online; suffice to say this was in our newspaper). I haven’t actually done these myself, but when my kids are older we’ll have a Mr. Wizard Easter & see what happens: Yellow - to 3 cups of water, add 2 teaspons turmeric and 1 teaspoon vinegar. Soak hard-boiled eggs overnight. Blue - While simmering eggs to hard-boiled, add a few leaves of red cabbage. Blue - Or, soak HBEs in grape juice overnight. Red - While simmering eggs to hard-boiled, add the skins of red onions. Pink - Soak HBEs overnight in cranberry juice Rose - Soak HBEs overnight in beet juice Lavender - Pour boiling hot water over violet blossoms, and soak HBEs overnight Brown - In 2 cups of hot water, add 2 tablespoons of instant coffee and 1 teaspoon vinegar. Soak HBEs overnight Tan - While simmering eggs to hard-boiled, add the skins of yellow onions. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090/4 "2006-03-27T20:22:23Z")
That Pyansky thing I could see, those are seriously beautiful. Too much work for me, but beautiful. Chocolate-filled real Easter eggs are just stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2006, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090/5 "2006-03-27T21:39:18Z")
PAAS is where it’s at, folks. I’ve done pyansky-lite, I’ve done marker things, I’ve done tie-dye and marbelizing and glitter, but in the end it always comes back to PAAS. They have way better color than they used to when I was a kid, I tell you, too! ---
**Author:** ![N.Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@N.Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N.Sane)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090/6 "2006-03-28T02:52:22Z")
I go to Target the day before Easter, and buy a dozen already-boiled, already-dyed Easter eggs. What? ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090/7 "2006-03-28T03:03:00Z")
A big bowl of water and psychedelic oilies. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090/8 "2006-03-28T03:38:13Z")
The outer skin of a **brown** onion wrapped around the egg (contain the skin within gauze or something) while it is boiling makes a beautiful dappled yellow on the shell. I’ve never tried **red** onions, but I think I will now!! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090/9 "2006-03-28T05:01:48Z")
> [@fessie](#): > > That Pyansky thing I could see, those are seriously beautiful. Too much work for me, but beautiful. It’s certainly a lot of work and patience. Plan. Draw on egg with light pencil. Draw in white parts with wax. Soak in yellow for a while. Draw, soak, repeat. The results are marvelous and totally worth it. If you’re working on more than one at once, it’s not too tedious. Probably not the best idea for four year olds, though… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090/10 "2006-03-28T05:31:32Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > A big bowl of water and psychedelic oilies. Those hexagonal scoopy wires never work though. Always loosing the hard boiled to crack. Bend a severe angle is my best advice… better to cradle. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090/11 "2006-03-28T06:41:56Z")
One time we took some colorful construction paper and a hole puncher and with a bit of glue had lots of fun. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090/12 "2006-03-28T07:25:40Z")
We made psanky in sixth grade once because our teacher was Ukranian. I always wanted to try it on my own but never got around to finding visks. They’re quite awesomely fun though, and you can get much more complex designs than with other methods. ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090/13 "2006-03-28T08:00:03Z")
I buy the double kit, that comes with both dipping dye and sponge paints. The youngest Marli goes nuts with the sponge paint, and you can get really cool marbled effects both with that and by wrapping rubber bands around your egg, dying it, letting it dry, removing the rubber bands and applying others, and dipping it in another color. I’d love to have the patience to do pysanky, though. Those are gorgeous. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090/14 "2006-03-28T11:04:10Z")
We used [gorse](http://www.habitas.org.uk/flora/species.asp?item=3211) flowers to make them yellow. It smells really good too. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090/15 "2006-03-28T11:29:45Z")
I found photographical eviednce of my easter eggs! You can see them http://img17.exs.cx/img17/6356/agg0ev.jpg From left to right: lizard egg, star egg, non-figurative abstract egg and egg man. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090/16 "2006-03-28T12:20:54Z")
That went wrong. Try clicking this instead: > **[EXS](http://exs.cx)** > > Votre magazine de presse ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090/17 "2006-03-28T13:07:43Z")
> [@Little Plastic Ninja](#): > > [Pysanky](http://www.learnpysanky.com/). > > We actually did this one year for Easter. Easter eggs for the seriously anal-retentive. I just emailed the teacher in Illinois to find out id she would be willing to teach me. That is awesome stuff. I think I will try to get supplies this week. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090/18 "2006-03-28T14:37:02Z")
Straight food coloring (well, okay, food coloring and vinegar or what-have-you). I think it gives you the widest range of choices in terms of colors. Of course, the part of my family that did the Easter egg thing when Iwas a kid is Greek, so it’s more like, “little bottles of food coloring, and one big ass honking bottle of red food coloring.” And then we got to crack the eggs. Bliss. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090/19 "2006-03-28T15:58:42Z")
Last time I did it I used markers too. I like the precision for drawing the kinds of things I like to draw, and to try to replicate my mom’s traditional Easter basket design egg. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090/20 "2006-03-28T16:52:45Z")
> [@fessie](#): > > Chocolate-filled real Easter eggs are just stupid. > [@fessie](#): > > Did you see Martha Stewart’s column on chocolate-filled Easter eggs? Real eggs, filled with chocolate. I seriously thought about pitting her for that. She is batshit crazy. Why? What’s so wrong with chocolate filled eggs? Why do you hate them so much? Am I missing something? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-to-color-easter-eggs/350090.md?page=2)