by Sadie Grey

Created on: March 27, 2009

I learned how to dye Easter eggs watching my older brother and sister. Both were creative with dying and doing different things to make the eggs look unusual. I was happy to just put my egg in a dye and see it come out the color I wanted. As I got older, I began to experiment with different things to dye my Easter eggs.

Even now, I use the different dyes that are readily available at any store. There's nothing like the smell of vinegar to bring back memories of Easter past. Plus, they're still inexpensive.

Before you start dying your eggs, set a large cookie sheet on one shelf in your refrigerator. This is important for a two reasons. You will be letting your eggs sit in the dye for at least three hours. Once you put the egg in the dye, set the dye cup in the refrigerator on the cookie sheet. The cookie sheet is also a safety net in case any of the dye cups get knocked over.

To make your dyes, just follow the directions on the package. Anyone who dyes Easter eggs knows the white vinegar is what gives the color a nice deep color. The longer you leave the egg in the dye, no matter what method you use, the deeper the color.

Two different techniques I use include the use of sand and glass pebbles. The glass pebbles are the decorative type used in vases and bowls. I've bought both at the local dollar store so it's not an expensive project.

Sand: Pour small amount of sand in bottom of your dye cup. Place a cooled, hard boiled egg in the center and cover with sand. Don't fill the cup; just make sure the egg is covered. Now add your dye. The sand will absorb the liquid so don't worry; just make sure the sand is well covered.

Once you have your egg covered, set dye cup in the refrigerator and leave at least three hours. When time is up, ease the egg out of the sand and set it aside to dry. Don't wipe the sand off yet. When the egg is dry, with your finger tips, brush any sand away. If you're positive the egg is good and dry, run a little water over the egg to make sure you have the grit off.

This technique gives the egg a textured look with out the texture.

If you decide to make more than one, do it at the same time with a different dye cup and dye. Once the egg has reached the desired color, you will throw away the sand. I've tried to do another egg in the same sand and dye and it just gets messy.

Glass pebbles: Cover bottom of dye cup with pebbles. Not a lot, just cover the bottom. Place your hard boiled egg in the center and gently add pebbles until egg is covered. Now add

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