How To Decorate The Perfect Easter Egg

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When we think of Easter, eggs are definitely a main symbol most of us canrelate to. Every April in most homes, families gather around a table to decorateand dye eggs. These pastel colored eggs are used for decoration around thehouse, in baskets or they are used for children´s Easter Egg Hunts. You simplycan´t celebrate Easter without homemade Easter eggs.

How To Hard Boil The Perfect Easter Egg

When it comes to hard-boiling an egg there is a special way to get it to beperfect. Sometimes an egg yolk can come out a little runny in the middle orcompletely opposite and be a dark grayish color. Obviously you are eitherkeeping the egg in the boiling water for too little or way too long. Followthese simple steps to achieve the perfect hard-boiled egg.

  1. Place the pot on top of the stove. Make sure the pot is big enough to holdthe desired amount of eggs you want to hard-boil plus boiling water.
  2. place the number of eggs carefully in the pot. Add enough water (temperatureof water doesn´t matter) to completely cover the eggs. Place the pan on thestove and turn the burner on to high heat. Leave the pan alone for 20 minutes.
  3. After the time has passed, place pan under cold running water to cool offthe eggs. Let the eggs sit in the cold water for awhile. I sometimes add icecubes to the pot to help cool of the eggs.
Blow or Hollow Out Easter Eggs

Sometimes families blow out the eggs and then decorate instead of usinghard-boiled eggs. It might be more difficult for a child to try to decorate anegg that is hollowed out because it is more fragile.

Follow these simple steps to blowing out your Easter Eggs.

  1. Wash all eggs well and dry off with a paper towel.
  2. Carefully, (and I suggest only adults do this) poke a small hole in each endof the raw egg.
  3. Over a bowl, hold the egg and blow into one of the holes you just made. Theraw yolk should slowly come out from the other hole. Sometimes this can be easyand sometimes it can be hard.
  4. Once the egg is empty gently rinse it off again and towel dry. Place the raweggshells in a safe place where they cannot get broken. I suggest placing themin the egg carton they originally came from.
Keeping Things Clean

Now that your eggs are ready, you need to set up a station where you candecorate them. Here are some starter tips for you to get ready to hop into yourdecorating mode.

  • Think about setting up your table outside, if weather permits. That way thekids and adults can be as messy as they want to be.
  • Cover the table with plenty of newspaper so cleaning will be less work thanit needs to be.
  • Remember to hold on to all the empty egg cartons so when it comes time toplace the painted eggs somewhere to dry you can use these. Just rip off the topof the carton and flip the bottom of the carton that actually holds the eggs inits place. More than likely some of the dye will drip from the bottom of thepainted egg onto the carton so just use caution when picking them up.
  • Make sure all eggs are completely dry before handling them.
Now for the fun part.....Decorating!

Anyone can find Easter egg decorating kits at party stores, kid´s toy storesand even grocery stores but if you want to save some money, below is an easyrecipe to make Old Fashioned Egg Dye for your Easter eggs.

Old Fashion Egg Dye
Ingredients

1/2 C. boiling water
1 tsp. vinegar
Food coloring

Directions

Combine boiling water, vinegar and the specified number of drops of foodcolor to achieve desired colors. Dip hard cooked eggs in dye for about 5 minutesor until desired color.

For variety, try dipping the top half in one color and the bottom half inanother; or leaving the egg in the dye for different lengths of time, creatingdifferent shades of a particular color. Use a slotted spoon or tongs to add orremove eggs from dye.

Following are some color combinations to create a vivid palette of colors foryour Easter eggs:

Lime - 24 yellow, 4 green
Purple - 15 blue, 5 red
Cantaloupe - 24yellow, 2 red
Jade - 17 green, 3 blue
Plum - 10 red, 4 blue
Spearmint -12 green, 6 yellow, 2 blue
Raspberry - 14 red, 6 blue
Maize - 24 yellow, 1red
Watermelon - 25 red, 2 blue
Teal - 15 green, 5 blue
Grape - 17blue, 3 red
Fuchsia - 18 red, 2 blue
Orange Sunset - 17 yellow, 3red
Jungle Green - 14 green, 6 yellow

Have a wonderful Easter and keep your eyes out for the Easter Bunny!

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