Tina sent in a timely article from The Dollar Stretcher, one of the oldest and best money-saving sites on the web. (It’s been around since 1996, and looks like its design hasn’t changed since!) Jenny Wanderscheid has some suggestions for creating Easter decorations with stuff you probably have in your kitchen.

Wanderscheid’s recipe for naturally-dyed Easter eggs:

Put eggs in a single layer in a pan. Pour water in pan until the eggs are covered. Add about a teaspoon of vinegar. Add the natural dye appropriate to the color you want your eggs to be. (The more eggs your are dying at a time, the more dye you will need to use.) Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the substance you used to color the eggs. Put eggs in a bowl. If you want your eggs to be a darker shade, cover them with dye and let them stand overnight in the refrigerator.

And just what are these natural dyes to which the recipe refers? To achieve the colors below, use the corresponding household items.

  • Pale red: fresh beets or cranberries, frozen raspberries
  • Orange: yellow onion skins
  • Light yellow: orange or lemon peels, carrot tops, celery seed, or ground cumin
  • Yellow: ground turmeric
  • Pale green: spinach leaves
  • Green-gold: yellow delicious apple peels
  • Blue: canned blueberries or red cabbage leaves
  • Beige to brown: strong brewed coffee

For more clever Easter egg ideas, including more advanced techniques for fancy decorating, read the entire article. You can find more Easter egg ideas at Child Fun. (But beware the sea of advertising — if GRS ever gets like this, please give me grief!) Finally, I had fun browsing Flickr for Easter egg photos — you may, too.

[The Dollar Stretcher: Decorating Easter Eggs]