Dyslexic egg dying

Holidays usually bring out great traditions and Easter is no different. I had the pleasure of showing my kids how I grew up dying eggs.   I am not sure if this is a German tradition but we grew up with our momma dying eggs using onion skins. We would gaze in awe as the whiteness of the egg gradually took on the color of the onion skins, traveling from a pale yellow to burnt orange to a rich russet. Every year we stood looking at the eggs do their costume change as if we were seeing it for the first time.

So because my middle peanut was home sick today, I thought it would be a perfect way to break up the monotony of couch time and teach her this technique. I even thought I'd branch out a little by trying beets as well. As a dye not as in trying to dye beets.

As with most things that I try, I shoot first, ask questions later. So I bought a can of beets at the supermarket, did my best Tony the tiger reach and said "This is gonna be GRRRRRRREAT"


Shall you join us on this fun journey?

Start with what you know by gathering your onion skins in a pan

 Add enough water to cover your eggs, turn the burner on medium and set your timer for 15 minutes

 Now what I don't know. This could fill a full set of Encyclopedia Britannicas, if they still existed. So here is what I thought.....just open the can of beets, dump it in my pot and cover with water just like the onion skins, maybe add some vinegar for good measure because that is what you do for the regular dying technique. These are gonna be so beautiful!! Cook them the same way as the onion skins.

 I added beets and all, because really, what the heck is that gonna hurt.

 This is about 5 minutes into the cooking process for the onion skins.

 Just shy of the 15 minute buzzer.

 Beets: 30 minutes later, uhhhhh it's still white.

Sigh. 

Maybe I should have researched this first and THEN tried the natural dying technique when I had more information or maybe, just maybe, I would have thought to buy those purple onions!!!!!! Doh!

So if you want yellow  or light orange, you will have to hard boil the egg like normal. Boil your onion skins separately and then transfer the egg to soak in the hot onion skin mixture until it is the color you desire. This would be the same for purple onion skins. I assume  you would get colors in the pink to magenta family depending on how long you let the egg soak. 

 As I was being all disappointed because I didn't WOW my daughters, or myself frankly, with my creativity, I picked up the beet egg and turned it over to see if the color had pooled on the bottom. Shazam!

I had just prayed to the Lord, while taking my bath today about how could I incorporate Him into this post  (because frankly that is sometimes the only time I have alone. It is not that I feel especially spiritual while bathing).  Wow does He deliver!!

This is the message.

My little egg had picked up the pattern of the paper towel is was resting in and on and it looked lacy and beautiful and so unexpected.

 Our faces reflected the awe we were experiencing at seeing the egg transformed from a dud into a thing of beauty...and not by anything that we did.

We try very hard to transform ourselves using various methods and we usually don't bother with any prep. We wing it and hope nothing especially horrible or disfiguring happens.

 But when we spend time in Christ's fountain and allow the Holy Spirit to renew us and work on us  we change. We turn ourselves over one day and look in the mirror and see what we thought would be the same old us but somehow.......


we are beauty unexpected
  

Why? Because when you study God's word and allow the Holy Spirit to do His work, we pick up the pattern of Jesus Christ and it has become a permanent part of who we are and what we show to people. No make-up or hair dye can achieve those results, nor do these last.

The only thing that lasts is His lacy, beautiful, strong, and Loving hand in our lives by the Transforming power of Christ's death and resurrection.

The stone has been rolled away and He Lives

Always being renewed,

P.S. Here is a very good article from BH&G with tried and true natural egg dyes. Enjoy!
http://www.bhg.com/holidays/easter/eggs/natural-easter-egg-dyes/