We dyed our eggs with foodstuffs this year.

[conuly]

Jenn took a picture! I'll post it when she mails it to me.

Grape juice came out grayish, which the girls loved, so that's sorta a win. The house reeked.

Red onion skins and yellow onion skins came out in two different shades of deep brown, but Ana threw a tantrum as they boiled and I overdid the eggs.

Turmeric came out a gorgeous yellow.

Paprika came out a light orange brown.

Cabbage DID come out blue - after we took the eggs out. I kept wondering why they weren't blueing, apparently they needed to sit a bit.

Beets came out red, but we seem to have lost them? That's a bit worrying.

Spinach didn't come out. What can I do for green next year?

And we didn't do coffee or tea because I got bored.

I'd meant to do that fancy thing where you tie them up in pantyhose with grass and flowers to leave an imprint, but we didn't HAVE any used pantyhose and could only get them at exorbitant prices, so this year I'll keep an eye out for sales and stock up for the next few months.

Still, I didn't do anything as crazy as this. You have GOT to check that out!

Comments

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

I'd suspect that blueberry would result in a purplish grey, same as grapes or elderberries.

I read that spinach would make green eggs, too, so I was wondering! I haven't tried spinach myself yet so I really have no idea if it works. Maybe you just didn't wait long enough? IIRC we're talking several hours here. Did you remember to add a few spoonfuls of vinegar to help the colour bind with the eggshell?

On wool, birch leaves will give you a yellowish green and stinging nettles will give you proper green; however, I have no idea whether it works on eggs, too, and if so, what quantities you'd need on how much water, and how long you'd have to steep the eggs, etc etc.

[conuly]

I was told that for spinach, baking soda works better than vinegar. I wonder if that's the whole of the problem? We did let them sit a looooooong time, but there was NO change in color from white.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

I thought soda was just one of those agents that change the hue, but didnn't actually help the colour to "stick" any better? Not sure though - as I said, I haven't dyed with spinach yet.