Easter Gift Baskets

Every Easter, images of gorgeous Easter eggs colored with vibrant natural dyes pop up all over the internet, and the results always look so fantastic that I decided to try it myself for my family’s Easter gathering. So, with the help of a few ingredients from the kitchen, I came up with three natural dye colors for my eggs, and I’m really happy with how they turned out.

To make the natural dyes:

RED
This dark red coppery color is made using the outer skins of several red and yellow onions. Place onion skins in a saucepan with a quart of water and a tablespoon of white vinegar. Then place the saucepan over medium-high heat until the mixture starts to boil. Reduce heat to medium, and continue simmering for another 30 minutes until the color of the water is rich and dark. Remove the saucepan from heat, discard the skins, and reserve the liquid.

YELLOW
Place two tablespoons of ground turmeric in a saucepan with a quart of water and a tablespoon of white vinegar. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat, and stir the mixture until the turmeric is evenly distributed. Let come to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer for ten minutes. Remove from heat, and reserve the liquid.

PURPLE
In a saucepan, place two handfuls of cabbage leaves, ½ cup blueberries (fresh or frozen), ½ cup raspberries (fresh or frozen), and a tablespoon of vinegar. Bring mixture to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Let simmer for 30 minutes, and then remove from heat and discard the cabbages and berries. Reserve the liquid.

To dye the eggs:

Carefully place several raw eggs in the dyed water, making sure they are completely covered, and then move the saucepan back over to the stove over medium-high heat until the water starts to boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook the eggs for 10-15 minutes until they are hard-boiled.

Remove the saucepan from heat, and place the eggs in a separate dish or bowl. Pour the colored water over the eggs, and let sit until they have reached your desired level of color saturation. If you wish, you can seal your container and store it in the refrigerator. Just make sure to turn the eggs every couple hours so the dye can distribute itself evenly around the shells.

Once your eggs are dyed, remove them from the liquid and pat dry with a rag or paper towel. Place in an empty egg carton in the refrigerator until Easter day when you’re ready to make up your baskets. [printfriendly]

To prepare my Easter baskets for gifting, I lined each one with basket filler to pad the eggs. Then, I chose Vintage Chalkboard hang tags in an Eastery color, and attached them with vibrant yellow twine to match the color of the turmeric-dyed eggs.

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Used In This Project:

• Circle Hang Tags • I chose the “Vintage Chalkboard Style” style in Chalkboard Green.
• Oval Hang Tags • I chose the “Vintage Chalkboard” style in Chalkboard Green.

More Easter Gift Ideas:

Bird Nest Treats	Mini Easter Terreriums	Handmade Doily Baskets	Easter Basket Favors

Easter Collection:

Easter Labels Easter Tags Easter Coasters Easter CD/DVD Labels Entire Easter Collection

Lindsay (114 Posts)

Lindsay is a writer/blogger from Oregon who loves crafting, cooking, gardening, and simple living. You can find her writing about all of this and more on her blog A Wooden Nest.