For many families, making their own Easter eggs is a fun way to celebrate Easter. There are many ways to decorate your eggs and you can make them as simple or fancy as you like. You can either decorate a hard boiled egg or learn how to blow the contents out of an egg leaving an empty shell.
How to Cook a Hard Boil Egg for Decorating
Decorating Easter eggs is an ancient tradition and is so much easier when your eggs are properly prepared. Below is a list of the things you will need to carry out this simple procedure:
• A large pan
• Some vinegar
• A paint brush
• Some watercolours or dye
The first goal is to hard boil your eggs. This is not mandatory, as it is possible to paint on or dye fresh eggs or pierce the egg and blow out the yolk. Eggs are however much less fragile to handle (especially for kids !) when they are hard boiled.
Do not place your eggs in already boiling water. The temperature difference makes it very likely that the shell will crack. Instead, place the desired number of eggs into cold water and put the saucepan on the stove. The water should just cover the eggs.
Add a teaspoon of white vinegar which will allow the dye to soak into the shell a little better, being sure to cover them more evenly and thoroughly.
As the water heats, the inside of the egg heats gradually, hardening the contents. Edible eggs are usually cooked in as little as five minutes. Eggs meant for decorating should be given a few extra minutes however don’t overcook them as that too can lead to cracking. Just cook them enough to make them extra firm to stand up well to handling.
Turn off the stove and allow the pan to cool gradually until both the water and eggs are room temperature. This takes about 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove the eggs carefully from the saucepan and place them gently into a bowl. Place the bowl into the refrigerator and let them harden further for at least one to one and a half hours.
Remove the bowl and let the eggs reach room temperature again. Now they are ready for decorating.
Decorating a Hard boiled egg
Try a couple of the following ideas or think up some of your own.
You may need items like paint brushes, water, glue and scissors.
- Acrylic Paint
- Sequins
- Food Dyes
- Felt tip pens
- Ribbons
- Glitter
- Coloured foil
Color the hard boiled eggs with different colored food dyes, pat dry and then with a small knob of butter on a piece of baking paper rub gently over the surface of the egg to give a lovely finish. These eggs can be eaten any time of the day and make a healthy alternative to the chocolate easter egg.
Crayons
A hard boiled egg can also be decorated with crayons, and then tinted with food coloring.
With colored crayons draw lines and patterns lightly over the surface surface of the egg. Place in a bowl of water with a few drops of food coloring and stand for 5 minutes. Drain on some absorbant paper and then pat dry.
Watercolor Paint
Watercolour paint is one excellent way to paint the eggs with any design you want. The watercolour paint soaks into the shell very well. It may take several coats to get an even appearance, if that’s desired.
Dye Kits
Dye kits are another, very convenient way to decorate your eggs. Many have multiple colours, stencils and other drawing aids.
To make a solid colour is very simple. Place the egg into a small cup with the dye and let it sit for about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the egg and allow to dry on a paper towel or cloth. You will want to throw out the cloth or reuse again only for Easter. Don’t expect to get it clean again in the washing machine!
Stencils
Using stencils, you can mask off and apply a number of different colours to a single egg. This can be done by placing stick on dots, and thick rubber bands too.
Place eggs in food coloring and sit for a few minutes, take out and pat dry and peel off dots and take masking tape and rubberbands off.
Hand Painting
Hand painting is another option for decorating your egg for Easter.
Another way to design eggs that resemble fine marble is to mix a bit of vegetable oil into the dye. Then, the dye sticks in a marbelized pattern that makes outstanding looking Easter eggs.
Using Wax
Together with an adult, drip patterns of wax on your egg and then once the wax has set, put the egg in some dye. Once the egg has dried, gently peel the wax off and you will have some great patterns.
Enjoy decorating your Easter Eggs!
How to Blow out an Egg
Often families will create a tradition by decorating eggs every year. However before you can decorate the eggs, you need to get the inside of the egg out. Sounds difficult, doesn’t it, especially as you have to do this without breaking the shell.
Here is our guide on how to blow the egg out. You will need some eggs, a needle and a bowl.
Use the needle to poke a small hole in the smaller or narrow end of the egg. Then use the needle to poke a slightly larger hole in the other end of the egg. Move the pin in and out and around to ensure you break the membrane around the yolk. Hold the egg over the bowl and blow through the small hole. The egg should start coming out the larger hole and fall into the bowl.
What to do with the inside of the egg
If you are working with an adult, encourage them to use it to make a cake, or an omelette or quiche. Unfortunately if you are doing this at school, health regulations will probably mean that the yoke cannot be reused.
Decorating your Egg
Once you are finished, rinse the egg well with water. Your eggs are now ready to decorate and there are many things you can decorate with from the ideas above.