How to paint eggs for Easter - a selection of the best methods

Since ancient times, there has been a tradition of painting eggs before Easter, and each family has its own recipe for preparing Easter symbols. Today I want to talk about my “piggy bank” of ideas. So, how to paint eggs for Easter - step-by-step photo recipes.

General rules

There is a set of basic rules, without which the matter, as they say, is not worth a damn. It is important to properly prepare future Easter gifts for the important painting procedure so as not to spoil the products.

Before you learn 8 ways to paint eggs at home, remember 8 rules for preparing for this procedure:

1. In order for the color to be evenly and densely distributed over the surface of the shell, the eggs must be washed with soap and then degreased the surface of the shell with alcohol or vinegar. To do this, moisten a cotton pad or cloth with liquid and rub the egg.
2. Do not put ice-cold eggs from the refrigerator into boiling water! They must certainly get used to the new conditions.Therefore, we warm them up in warm water or leave them to adapt to room temperature on the table, and only then send them to cook. A sharp change in temperature is a direct path to cracks in the shell.
3. It is better to boil eggs with salt. The calculation here is approximately this: 1 tablespoon per 1.5 - 2 liters of water. Salt will strengthen the shell and, if its integrity is damaged, will not allow the squirrel to leave “its territory.”
4. Rub the already boiled and painted eggs with a cloth or cotton pad dipped in vegetable oil. This will give the paints a festive and cheerful look and will additionally protect the color. Afterwards, you can additionally rub with a dry cotton cloth, which will make them shiny and glossy.
5. For color stability, add 9% table vinegar to dyes, regardless of their origin (1 tablespoon per 1.5 liters of water).
6. After boiling the eggs, rinse them with cold water. In this case, the temperature contrast will be beneficial - the egg will be much easier to peel.
7. The time spent in the solution directly affects the future color of the egg. The longer, the more intense the shade will be.
8. It is convenient to immerse the egg in the coloring solution using a kitchen whisk. The egg should be inserted between the whisk rods and lowered into a container with paint.

You can dye not only chicken eggs, but also quail eggs. The latter look especially original on the holiday table. You need to cook them for 4-5 minutes.

Such different eggs

Depending on the design of Easter eggs, they are all divided into the following types:

• paints – painted with food or natural dyes in one color;
• specks – with specks on the shell, multi-colored spots or stripes of different colors;
• drapanki – painted in one color and having a pattern or design scratched on the shell;
• Easter eggs – eggs with an original ornament or plot design, which is applied by hand or created in some special way.

The most popular ideas for painting eggs

We will remind you of the basic recipes for making Easter souvenirs with your own hands at home and even reveal some “folk” secrets.

Method 1. Paint in onion skins

The classic and well-known method of painting eggs for Easter at home - using onion peels - has a major advantage over other recipes. It's simple, safe, fast and beautiful. Original crimson-red, brown, beige eggs are obtained depending on the characteristics of the onion peel. The more it is, the brighter and more saturated the color is. In addition, red onion peels can add additional shades.

For orientation, you can take the following postulate as a basis: 2 glasses of water and the peel of 8 onions gives the output a red-brown color.

Dyeing process:

1. 1. Place onion peelings into a saucepan with water. It is necessary to boil the dye solution for half an hour. Cool it and let it brew. To obtain a more even color of the eggs, strain the broth, removing the husks.

1. 1. Place the prepared raw eggs into the pan until the liquid completely covers them. Cook the eggs over moderate heat for another 10–15 minutes.

1. 1. Take out the eggs. Cool them under running water. If you are not satisfied with the resulting color, you can dip them in the paint again and leave them there until they acquire the desired shade.

If you do not remove the husk from the broth, interesting “fiery” stains will remain on the shell - an option for those who find the smoothly painted surface too boring.

Method 2. Gifts of nature and the food industry

Natural dyes are often used during preparations for Easter celebrations.

• To get pink eggs, you can use beetroot juice.
• Yellow color - take turmeric, orange, carrots, birch leaves.
• Gray color - use strong hibiscus tea.
• Red cabbage gives the blue color.
• The green color comes from spinach and nettle.
• Coffee gives the brown color.

In the case of natural dyes, which are weak by nature, it is better to have the initial color of the egg white, and add 9% table vinegar to the dye.

Industrially produced artificial dyes can even color a brown egg.

The algorithm for use is approximately the same, differing only in the time of exposure to the shell.

1. 1. Hard-boil the eggs in the traditional way for 10-15 minutes.

1. 1. Prepare a dye solution. If we are talking about a natural dye, it should be boiled in water with the addition of vinegar and left to infuse for half an hour. Food coloring should be prepared according to the manufacturer's instructions.

1. 1. Place eggs in the solution. When using natural dye - for a long time, up to 12–14 hours. Using artificial pigment, cure eggs according to the owner's manual.

1. 1. Dry the egg.

Method 3. Patterns in color - how to diversify the coloring

Whatever coloring method you choose - natural or artificial dyes - you can add originality to each dye by first applying a stencil to it.The role of a stencil can be natural leaves and flowers, as well as patterns and figures cut from adhesive tape, plaster, self-adhesive paper, rubber bands or lace. Rice can also be colored with an original pattern if you roll a wet egg in it.

Proceed like this:

1. Prepare the eggs.
2. Place a stencil on a raw (for onion skins) or boiled (for other dyes) egg. Secure it with nylon tights and threads or elastic bands.
3. Color the egg by boiling it in onion water or immersing it in a coloring solution.
4. Dry the egg. Remove the stencil. You will see an original egg, decorated with an interesting and unique pattern in the color of the natural shell.

Method 4. Translation rules - how to paint with fabric?

Eggs that have fabric prints on their shells look original. A silk tie and a Pavloposad scarf are the best options for coloring Easter symbols at home.

1. 1. Wrap the egg in a piece of fabric measuring 15 by 15 cm, right side inward. Secure the bags with thread or rubber bands.

1. 1. Wrap the bag in additional natural white fabric. Secure it in the same way.

1. 1. Boil the eggs hard by adding 3 tablespoons of 9% table vinegar to the water.

1. 1. Drain the water, cool the eggs and unwrap them. Beautiful and picturesque souvenirs are ready!

Method 5. Easy and simple - use stickers

One of the most simple and, nevertheless, wonderful ideas is thermal stickers. Today, store shelves are overflowing with variations with designs that can decorate eggs, thanks to such films.

1. 1. Boil the eggs hard.

1. 1. Put on the thermal wrap and place the egg in a strainer or whisk.

1. 1. Immerse the device in hot water for a few seconds. After the sticker sticks tightly to the egg, remove it from the water.

Method 6. Coloring eggs in a napkin

An absolutely simple and affordable way to dye eggs with your own hands at home gives an interesting and unusual result.

1. 1. Wrap the dry hard-boiled egg in a napkin or paper towel.

1. 1. Prepare coloring solutions according to the manufacturer's recommendations.

1. 1. Using cotton swabs, a pipette, or a brush, saturate the paper with small multi-colored spots, sequentially filling the entire white surface.

1. 1. Dry the egg for 35-40 minutes and carefully remove the paper bags. You will get a unique and beautiful dotted pattern.

Method 7. Marble eggs - like clockwork

Getting an interesting marble color at home is not at all difficult - ordinary vegetable oil will do all the manual work for you. All you need to do is choose beautiful colors harmoniously and buy good, high-quality food coloring.

1. Boil the egg the traditional way.
2. Dilute dyes of different colors according to the manufacturer's recommendations.
3. Using a whisk or spoon, dip the cooled egg into the light-colored dye for 2 minutes.
4. Remove the egg and pat dry with a napkin.
5. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to the darker dye and stir until small bubbles form.
6. Dip the egg into the solution and roll for a minute until the new color sets in a fancy pattern on the surface.
7. Take out the egg. Dry.

Method 8. A work of art - to embody talents

Housewives and needlewomen will certainly enjoy especially complex and labor-intensive techniques for decorating eggs with their own hands. In all these cases, it is better to remove the white and yolk in advance by making a small puncture in the shell.

• • You can crochet an egg

• • An egg embroidered with buttons looks original. First you need to cover the workpiece with fabric.

• • You can decorate the egg using the quilling technique.

• • With the children's participation, color the eggs with wax crayons, acrylic paints or permanent markers.

• • Take multi-colored threads - floss, cotton and thin wool are suitable. Secure one end of the thread with tape. Coat the egg with PVA glue. Consistently and carefully, without leaving any gaps, wind the thread around the egg. Working very carefully, you can lay out a pattern with it.

As you can see, there is a whole arsenal of different answers to the question of how to dye eggs at home. Some methods require time and effort, some are completely simple. Each of the photo ideas presented in the article can be modernized in accordance with your tastes and brought to perfection. Happy upcoming Easter!