"Dying" Eggs the Natural Way

Today we tried to dye eggs using natural sources, such as berries, tea, spices, herbs, and vegetables, using these directions.

First I boiled the eggs and then boiled them with the dyes. This did not work so well, except the orange (boiled with carrots, chili powder and paprika). The grayish blue (blueberries) eggs above were not boiled

Mr. Steady read the directions differently than I and thought you should not boil the eggs seperately so we tried the same approach using fresh eggs. This time I boiled all the dyes and again only the orange and blue(ish) turned out.

We tried several by boiling (we used the same batch of dye for both boils and after the second time I let the dye cool and sit at room temperature for a while.)
Pink or Red: raspberries mixed with several tablespoons of concentrated tart cherry juice - no tint at all
Yellow: carrot tops mixed with a lot of cumin - very tiny amount of tint
Green: spinach - no tint at all

We also tried without boiling
Golden Brown: dill weed (the directions say dill seed and I'm not sure what the difference is) - no tint
Brown: black tea - a fair tint (it's the one on the far right in the bowl) but it sat there for over 6 hours

Even after the eggs were dyed a gentle rubbing would take the stain right off. So the conclusion is if you want to experiment with your children this is a great project to undertake. Especially if you have everything already in your pantry like we did. However, if you're looking for a vibrant, spring-y, colored egg you're better off sticking to the chemical dyes you find at your local supermarket.

Mr. Steady prefers the softer, more natural look of these eggs and the boys seemed pleased with them. They are growing on me, the whole process certainly didn't have the "wow" factor I was hoping for.

I wonder how many times I've missed the "wow" factor God was trying to attempt in my life?