Dyeing Eggs With Tissue Paper
by Kimberly

A local Waldorf kindergarten once introduced our family to a new way to dye Easter eggs:  dyeing eggs with tissue paper.  I have had great success with this at home and also with our homeschool support group.  This method works great with all ages. 

 Gather together the following: 

• a batch of blown or boiled eggs
• art quality "bleeding" tissue paper
• a bowl of water
• paper or cloth towels
• scissors (optional)

Regular gift-wrap variety tissue paper will not dye the eggs.  The towels will be for the eggs to sit upon and also for the wiping of the hands; so choose something that you will not mind getting stained.  Scissors are useful for cutting strips to make designs; however, the younger children can simply rip up the paper.

So now that you have your eggs ready, place the eggs in a bowl of water and put the bowl on the table.  The eggs need to stay wet.  Every person working on dyeing will want a cloth to wipe their hands, and also a cloth on which to place their art-in-progress. 

Now, choose a color and start ripping or cutting the tissue of your choice.  Once you have your tissue ready, take an egg from the water and begin covering it with the tissue paper. 

You can create different designs by laying the tissue strips in patterns, or you can just wrap the entire egg in one color of tissue.  While you work, you may need to dab water on areas of the egg that have dried before you could cover them with tissue.

Once you have the egg entirely wrapped, set the egg aside to dry.  If you live in a humid climate, as we do, you may wish to use a fan to speed up this process.  We used an overhead fan, and our latest batch was completely dry in about an hour. 

Once the tissue has dried, peel off the layers and discover what lies beneath...it's always a surprise!