Dip-Dye Wax-Resist Easter Eggs

Out of all of the insanely cool ways to decorate Easter eggs out there these days, the old-school wax-resist dip-dye method remains one of my very favourites. There’s just something about the classic process and the vibrant results… Not to mention the fact that it’s great for kiddos of all ages and you most likely have everything you need on hand at this very moment. Go ahead, take a look. 

You’ll need:

• freshly hardboiled white eggs
• white vinegar
• wax crayons
• several small jars or containers
• liquid food colouring or liquid watercolours
• water
• spoons
• an old towel or rag
• something to cover your work surface

Alright, with everything gathered up, you'll want to do a little bit of set-up. First up, cover your surface to prevent any staining mishaps from occurring. We usually use big wipeable placemats or trays, but a picnic table cloth, inexpensive shower curtain or layers of newspaper will work too.

Next, fill one of your jars with pure white vinegar, making sure there’s enough to fully submerge an egg. In your other jars you’ll want to mix up your dip dyes using a combination of liquid food colouring or watercolours and some water.

You can play around with the ratios a little bit to get the vibrancy you desire, but my usual rule of thumb is to add enough colouring to make the dye in the jar several shades darker than what I hope it’ll look like on our eggs without making it so dark that it just looks black. Be sure to set out your crayons, spoons and old towel nearby and you’re good to go!

First off, dunk your freshly hardboiled egg into the white vinegar for 30 to 60 seconds before removing it and allowing it to dry completely. The drying process won’t take long if your eggs are still slightly warm and the vinegar will allow the dip dye to better ‘stick’.

Next, use your crayons to draw on your egg. This can be in any colour (including white!) or pattern — try stripes, polka dots, flowers or any other design your little heart desires.

With your crayon design done, dunk your egg into the dip dye. You can choose to dye the entire egg one colour, or you can experiment with half and half or even layering the dye colours. Completely up to you! The one thing to keep in mind is that the longer the eggs sit in the dye, the more vibrant the colours will be.

Watch as the dye colours the egg except for where the wax crayon is. Neat, isn’t it? 

When your egg is done, set it on the towel to dry completely before displaying it in a pretty bowl. Gorgeous, aren’t they?

Now for my expert tip: If you have dye leftover once all of your eggs are coloured, use it as paint! Draw several big Easter eggs or print off our play dough Easter egg mats and use the same wax crayon resist technique as you did for your eggs, but apply the dye as you would paint with a paintbrush. Allow the paper eggs to dry before cutting them out and displaying them.

Happy Easter!