Silk Tie Dyed Easter Eggs

It’s really a shame that some holiday-type projects are shown so close to the actual holiday that you really never have a chance of doing the actual project. I mean, come on. Don’t show me a great project on Good Friday and think I’m even going to have a shot at completing it by Easter Sunday. And such was the case with these amazing eggs I saw Martha and a guest do last year on her show.

So what made these dyed Easter eggs so special was that they weren’t actually dyed at all. All they did was use some old ugly silk ties and scarves, wrap them around the eggs with some cotton squares, boil them and that’s pretty much it. And I’m sorry, but if you tell me I can dye Eater eggs with the mini’s with zero mess then you had me at hello. When you unwrap your little silk wrapped eggs, the designs left of the eggs are truly unbelievable. I must say, I was a little skeptical myself when the mini’s and I started this project this morning, but all three of us were so excited when we opened each egg and saw the surprise it held, that I was picking up the phone and calling just about everyone I knew!

You Will Need
- raw eggs
-Glass or enamel pot (very impt! Can’t use a metal pot for some reason. I had to borrow one from my neighbor)

-Silk ties, blouses, or boxers, cut into pieces large enough to cover an egg (the uglier the tie, the prettier the egg it made for me)

-White sheets (or pillowcases or old tablecloths), cut into pieces to cover silk-wrapped eggs

-Twist ties

-3 tablespoons of white vinegar

-Warm water

-Vegetable oil

-Paper towels

-Tongs or spoon

Instructions

1. Cut silk into a square (or a piece) large enough to wrap around a raw egg (I used a seam ripper to rip the ties open from the backside, and was able to get about 4 good sized pieces of silk from each tie)

2. Wrap a raw egg with a piece of silk, making sure the printed side of the material is facing the egg. Silk can still be used if it doesn't fit perfectly around egg.

3. Place the silk-wrapped egg in a piece of white sheet, pillowcase, or old tablecloth and secure tightly with a twist-tie.

4. Place the egg(s) in an enamel or glass pot. Fill pot with water to cover eggs completely. Then, add three tablespoons of white vinegar.

5. Bring water to a boil, turn heat down, and simmer for 20 minutes (longer if you plan on eating the eggs).

6. Remove eggs from water with tongs or spoon and let cool.

7. Remove silk from cooled egg.

8. For shiny eggs, wipe with vegetable oil after completing step 7.

Now, I have to tell you. Light colored ties (ie. Yellow) don’t turn out all that great. The colors that turned out the best were the dark colors like navy, burgundy, dark green, etc. Don’t worry though, they don’t transfer on the egg that dark. In fact, it’s quite the opposite! The navy turns into a pretty shade of denim blue, the burgundy a pretty red, the dark green turns into a grassy green. Oh, and anything black will just turn out grey so that was an ugly egg we did but hey! Live and learn!

P.S. Yes! These are our eggs! I'm back in business with my new camera so no more "stock" photos-Yippie!