It’s perfectly imperfect.
Could I have dyed the eggs more evenly? Yes. Does it bother me that the eggs are not evenly distributed across the branches? Yes. Would I have it any other way? No.
I can’t help but smile as I look up at my mantle and think of the tiny hands that helped me make this. I’ll be honest, this is not a craft that you throw at your preschooler to keep them occupied. This is something that you make WITH your kids. It’s a memory maker… the best kind of craft there is!
I bought 18 white eggs for our tree and thankfully only broke 4 in the process. I consider this a victory considering my helpers are 5 and not-quite-2 years old!
Could I have used some homemade dye recipes? Definitely, and with beautiful results! But this craft was meant to be vibrant and quick… without much prep-work, so we used an Easter egg dying kit from the store. I love how vibrant the tie-dyed method is, so this is the kit that I chose 🙂
Without boiling the eggs, help your children color the eggs. My son got a little over-zealous while mixing his colors a couple times, and ended with a few broken eggs. I don’t think he realizes his own strength sometimes, now that he’s transitioning into a man child. It was fun talking about colors and seeing which ones my toddler wanted to mix together! We got some beautiful results!
After dying the eggs, allow them to dry. Using whatever method you choose (I just used a small screw driver because that’s all I had on hand), tap a hole in both the top and bottom of the egg. I’ve seen that they make cute little hand pumps for blowing out the yolk, but we wanted to do it like Babushka did in Rechenka’s Eggs (an adorable little story about colorful eggs and a very special goose).
WARNING: If you choose the method I did, you might want to make sure your schedule is clear for the following few hours. My lips were blue until bedtime!! HAHA!
We allowed the eggs to dry out overnight, and then spent the next morning threading pretty ribbon through the holes in the egg. I used a thin wire and twisted the end to create a loop for the ribbon to go through. My 5 year old threaded the ribbon through the loop and I fed the wire through the eggs, creating a pretty loop to hang on the tree and tied a bow on the bottom to secure the ribbon.
Michigan is having fickle weather lately, but we braved the snow and cold for a few branches. I remember when I was little, my mom found pussy willow branches and cut those and put them into water. They bloomed beautifully! Unfortunately, we do not have beautiful flowering trees on our property, so we made due with what we had. hehe… My daughter had fun eating snow and my son attempted to cut a few branches. Was this the most enjoyable part of our project? Nope! We were freezing and the kids were complaining, but we persisted, got outside and were rewarded for our efforts.
The kids had fun hanging the completed eggs on the branches. I gently guided them to not hang them ALL in one spot, and the results were fabulous! My son enjoys looking at the project, knowing HE helped make it. There’s something so rewarding in knowing you made something with your own hands.
Let em know if you try this with your kiddos!
