Decorating eggs to give to friends and families is a symbol of friendship, love and good health. In addition, it has evolved to be a prized art form in Orthodox traditions. Instead  of using chemical food coloring this Easter, do something different and experiment using these organic Easter egg dyes

Colors

• Orange: yellow onion skins, carrot or paprika
• Pink: beets or pickled beet juice, cranberries or cranberry juice or raspberries
• Violet: hibiscus tea or red wine
• Yellow: orange or lemon peels, chamomile or green tea or celery seed or ground cumin
• Blue: blueberries, red cabbage leaves or purple grape juice
• Red: Pomegranate juice or canned cherries (with syrup)
• Lavender: violet blossoms with 2 tbsp of lemon juice or red zinger tea
• Gold: turmeric
• Green: spinach leaves

Directions

• Step one. Hard cook or boil your eggs, remove from water and allow them to cool in the fridge overnight. Wash with warm soapy water and allow them to dry before dying.
• Step two. Prepare dye. There is no hard and fast rule about how much water or dye creator should be used. Experiment until you get the color you desire. Add tap water to at least 1 inch over dye product. Bring to a boil and simmer until the desired color is reached. Remember that the color in the pan will not be as dark as what shows up on the egg.
• Step three. Allow the dye to cool and strain into cups (glass will be the easiest to clean). Add 2 to 3 teaspoons of white vinegar for each cup of dye.
• Step four. Prepare for messy fun and multi-colored children!

Listed below are some more things you can do to make your eggs even prettier.

• Tie-Dye. Wrap your egg in rubber bands before dipping in dye.
• Color. Use wax-based crayons to color on eggs before dying.
• Pattern. Use a glue, like rubber cement, to make a pattern on your egg before dying. After dying, peel off the glue.
• Layer. Follow up a boiled dye with a cold dye. Dip or paint to create a neat effect.
• Texture. Dab the still wet egg with a sponge or balled up paper towel

Save the egg cartons for letting your newly dyed eggs dry and then they can be used for Easter candy gift boxes.