Colouring Easter eggs can be a great activity for the whole family – and the kids love it! Doing it doesn’t have to be difficult or complicated – I remember my grandma making Easter eggs the Eastern European way, with colours, wax and a needle. But I have to admit that I have never mastered – or even tried that particular art.

Here are a few recipes for making pretty Easter eggs the easy way:

Marbled Easter Eggs:

What you will need:

• Hard boiled eggs
• Store bought dye or food colouring/vinegar dye
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil for each egg

How to make them:

• Mix dye according to package directions
• Add 1 Tbsp vegetable oil to each color you want to marbleize
• Dye eggs as directed on dye package
• When you remove the eggs, the oil will have caused a very nifty marbelized effect

Crayon Coloured Easter Eggs

What you will need:

• Crayons
• Boiled eggs
• Neon food coloring and white vinegar (optional)

How to make them:

1. Be sure that boiled eggs are cool and dry.
2. Place a double folded kitchen towel and place it on the table underneath child’s hands so if the egg slips out it will have a soft cushion to land on.
3. Use crayons to draw designs on the egg.
4. Have kids hold the egg gently so they do not crack the shell.
5. This step is optional but adds a fun effect. If you like, mix 1 Tbsp of white vinegar into a coffee mug of water (filled ¾ full) then add several drops of food coloring.
6. Dip the crayon coloured egg into the dye and let sit for about a minute.
7. Remove and let dry. The dye makes the crayon look brighter, especially if you use neon food coloring!

Tips:

• To boil perfect eggs, place into a shallow pan, cover with water and boil gently for three minutes. Turn off heat and cover pan with a tight fitting lid and let sit for 15 minutes. Place pan in sink, carefully drain out hot water and let cold water run over them for several minutes. Turn off water and add several ice cubes and let sit for about 5 minutes more.
• Try different types of food coloring, we used neon colors!

The longer you leave the egg in the dye, the deeper the color will be.

Sponge Painted Easter Eggs

What you will need:

• Hard boiled eggs
• Acrylic craft paints in the colors of your choice
• Household sponge
• Paper towel
• Small bowl of water
• Egg holder or empty egg carton

How to make them:

1. Soak a household sponge in water, then ring it out completely. Cut the sponge into several different pieces, enough so that you have one for each color.
2. Using a paper plate as a palette, squeeze out small amounts of several different colors of paint.
3. Place an empty egg carton upside down so that you can rest your eggs on it to dry once painted.
4. Hold an egg in your fingers, and with your other hand, dab a sponge into desired paint color.
5. Dab the sponge onto a piece of paper towel. The object is to remove the excess paint, but not completely dry it out.
6. Now dab the sponge directly onto your egg, using any type of random pattern you like. Paint as much of the egg as you can and place it down to dry.
7. Repeat steps four to six for each egg, using different colors.
8. For a coloured background with white sponge marks, simply paint the egg a solid color with a paint brush or with one of your sponges. When dry, sponge on a pattern with white paint.
9. When one side has dried, complete the other side and allow that to dry as well.
10. Place eggs into an egg holder, or fill a bowl with Easter grass and arrange the eggs atop the grass.

Tips:

• To make pastel paints from primary colors, simply add enough white paint until you have reached the shade you want.
• Use a pair of scissors to round the edge of the sponges. Square edge can make your design look choppy, whereas a rounded edge looks softer.
• Instead of painting the eggs a solid color, you can always dye them with traditional methods, then sponge paint them with white. This is an easy alternative if you don’t have several different paint colors on hand.
• Get creative! Make different shapes by cutting hearts or letters from the sponges. Dollar stores will sometimes have shaped sponges in the kid’s bath section.

Hope you have lots of fun making these colourful Easter Eggs – please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences – your input is always very much welcomed and appreciated!