Tie Dyed Easter Eggs

I saw this egg dying craft on Martha Stewart's site and I have no idea if everyone else on the planet has already seen it but I'm going to take the risk that the majority of you out there are just as behind the times as I am and this will be new to you as well.

It's the actual, the literal tie-dyed eggs.

This is a particularly good project to do with children because first you get the thrill of destruction--cutting up an old tie somehow feels kind of fun.

Second, you never really know what you're going to get in the end. As you can see each pattern lends individual results and it's fun to guess what you're going to get. I used three of Andrew's old ties that are pretty neutral but I would have loved to see what some of his flaming hot silk ties from India would have produced. Though if I'd got caught cutting up one of those it probably would have pushed his love too far.

Third, there's no mess like you get with regular egg dying. Always a bonus with kids.

And fourth, it's really, really really easy to do.

1. Wrap a perfectly normal fresh white egg with a scrap of silk (you can use old ties or any piece of silk) outside facing in against the shell.

2. Fasten the fabric with a rubber band.

3. Stick the eggs in a small saucepan, fill with water plus three tablespoons of vinegar, then bring them to a boil.

4. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Then remove, cool and unwrap to see what you've created--the silk will transfer magically to the egg. Amazing. (If you want them shiny you can rub a dab of cooking oil on the shell to slick them up.)

Interesting to note that you can reuse the scraps of silk on eggs multiple times, depending on the piece of silk and the quality of the dye.

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