How to Make Colorful Tissue-Dyed Easter Eggs

There’s nothing wrong with the classic pastel-dyed Easter eggs, but this year we’re craving something a little more, well, eggciting.

Project Overview
  • Working Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Skill Level: Kid-friendly
  • Estimated Cost: $10

These deceptively simple tissue-dyed eggs are a great place to start your Easter crafting. "Bleeding" tissue paper (named for the way its color bleeds when wet) gives hollowed or hard-boiled eggs a funky marbled effect. You can find "bleeding" tissue paper in most crafts stores or online. We layered two sheets to give each egg a colorful marbled look. Try combining colors like blue and pink or green and blue. This easy egg-dyeing project will have you excited for the Easter bunny's arrival!

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

  • Drying rack

Materials

  • Hard-boiled or blown-out eggs
  • Hygloss bleeding tissue paper
  • Basket coffee filters
  • Rubber bands
  • Disposable gloves
  • Plastic cups
  • White vinegar
  • Paper towels

Instructions

How to Dye Tissue Paper Easter Eggs

Follow these easy instructions to learn how to make colorful dyed Easter eggs. You should be able to complete this Easter craft in under an hour.

  1. Wrap Eggs

    Special bleeding tissue paper gives these eggs their wild motifs. Before you begin, choose colors of tissue paper that match your Easter decor scheme. Cut two 6-inch squares of two different colors of bleeding tissue paper. Crumple the squares, reopen them, and wrap them around a hard-boiled or a blown-out egg. Then wrap the egg and tissue paper with a basket coffee filter and secure the filter around the egg with a rubber band.

    Keep in mind the hard-cooked eggs will not be edible after you've transferred the tissue paper design since tissue paper is not food-safe. For lasting decorations you can use year after year, use blown-out eggs or ceramic eggs, which can be found at local crafts stores.

  2. Easter eggs decorated tissue paper dyed
    Jacob Fox

    Dip Eggs

    Once you've wrapped as many eggs as you want to decorate, fill a disposable cup two-thirds of the way full with white vinegar. Wearing disposable gloves, submerge a coffee filter-covered egg in vinegar until the whole egg is wet. Take it out of the vinegar, but don't unwrap the tissue or the coffee filter just yet.

  3. Let Eggs Dry Overnight

    As you remove the eggs, place them (still wrapped in tissue and coffee filters) on a wire rack to dry overnight. Place paper towels under the rack to prevent any dyed vinegar from dripping onto and staining your work surface. Let the eggs stand overnight before removing the wraps to reveal the pattern underneath.

    They might not be completely dry when you remove the wraps, so wipe each egg gently to remove excess vinegar or dye. (Blotting instead of wiping will help preserve the pattern.) If you dye blown-out or ceramic eggs, consider sealing them with a protective coat and letting them dry again before displaying. This will make your creations last longer so you can reuse them for next year's Easter decor.

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