A very big part of living this self-sufficient lifestyle is using what you have on hand, rather than going to the store.
I wish I could say that I always make everything from scratch, handmade & homemade but in truth, this journey is one that must be taken a step at a time. If you try to change every single thing you do at once, you will be completely overwhelmed in the first two days. I make it my goal to take on 1-2 new things per month that work towards our goals of self-sufficiency.
This month, it was dyeing Easter eggs with natural dyes from food items that we already had in the kitchen.
It was a very fun experiment to say the least. There are many methods out there on Pinterest and believe me, most of your results will differ from theirs. That’s the fun part, right? In fact, I had one color that another blogger said she expected to be pink, but it turned out green. But when I tried it… purple. Super fun!
In our post today, I’ll break down the method rather than giving specific recipes. The reason being that you should have the freedom to use what you have on hand, experiment and as I said before, results will vary.
The basic method is this:
1. Cover food (dye ingredient) in water, in a pan and place on the stove top.
2. Simmer for 1 hour(ish) until desired color is reached. ( Remember that the egg will end up a few shades lighter than the color of your dye, so you’ll need to account for that.)
3. Strain into containers and cool.
4. After dye has cooled, add 1 Tbl white vinegar per cup of dye.
5. Add boiled eggs to dye and leave over night. This is the hardest part for the tiny humans who are used to the instant gratification of store bought dye. But the next morning, it’s all worth the wait. They will be SO excited to see what comes out of those jars!

6. The next morning, take the eggs out of the dye and drain on upside down egg cartons.
*The longer you leave the eggs in the dye, the darker the colors will be.
I made up 7 batches of dye. I’ll show you what it looked like for us.
Purple Cabbage (Blue)
- Shred approximately 1/2 of a red or purple cabbage
- Cover with 1/2 inch of water.
- Simmer for 1-2 hours.
3. Strain into jar or container and cool.
Onion Skins & Ends (Yellow/Orange)
- Peel onions.
- Dice onions and save for fixin’ Easter supper.
- Cover with approximately 1/2 inch of water.
- Simmer until desired color is reached.
5. Strain into jar or container and cool.
6. Add 1 Tablespoon of vinegar per cup of liquid.
Beets (Mauve/Pink)
- Peel & Chop (I think grating the beets might have resulted in a prettier pink)
- Cover with approximately 1/2 inch of water.
- Simmer until desired color is reached.
4. Strain into jar or container and cool.
5. Add 1 Tablespoon of vinegar per cup of liquid.
When using herbs & spices, the method changes a bit.
- Measure herb or spice into jar.
- Add Boiling Water.
- Let steep until desired color is reached.
- Strain (if desired) into jar or container and cool.
- Add 1 Tablespoon of vinegar per cup of liquid
Hibiscus (Theoretically pink, though mine resulted in a mottled purple (I left the herbs in the jar to get the cool mottled pattern.) However this is also the one that resulted in green for another blogger. I think it depends on the container you use perhaps? I make a Hibiscus tea for my girls instead of giving them Kool-Aid and if I add their magnesium powder to the tea it will turn green.)
Add your boiled eggs to the dye jars and refrigerate a few hours or over night. The longer you let it sit, the darker your results will be.
Notes:
- Check out this fool proof method of hard cooking eggs so that they peel like a dream. EVEN farm fresh eggs. Trust me, it works like a charm.
- You can order bulk high quality Turmeric & Hibiscus from Bulk Herb Store HERE.