Easter Craft – Naturally dyed eggs with leaf print

Making dyed eggs is a fun activity to do with your family or class at Easter, or anytime of the year!

Pop outside and pick an interesting shaped fresh leaf.  A piece of fern like this works really well.  Then place your leaf on a white or light-coloured egg and wrap it tightly with an old stocking, and secure it with a rubber band.

easter-nature-craft-dyed-egg
Place the wrapped egg into a saucepan of  water.  Add some dried brown onion skins and boil on your stove for at least 5 minutes.  Then carefully remove the egg with a spoon or tongs and allow it to cool.

Once cool, unwrap the egg and peel off the leaf to reveal a beautiful natural leaf print!

nature-craft-dyed-easter-egg

You can try different dyes using other natural ingredients, it’s really fun to experiment! Try purple cabbage or turmeric to create different colours.  There’s lots more interesting information on natural dyes in my book Nature Crafts with Common Plants.  Check it out!