Tie-Dyed Easter Eggs...Literally With Ties

As I guy, I often have numerious occassions when it's necessary for me to wear a tie.  I really enjoy dressing up and I'm intrigued by the fun patterns and prints of mens neck ties.   One day I decided to do a search for ways to incorporate the use of mens ties into home decor.  While doing so I ran across the oddest post in which they dyed Easter eggs with old silk neck ties.  I was really curious and pretty skeptical that this crazy process actually worked.  That meant that I had to try it...LOL. 

I made a quick trip to Goodwill and purchased a few ties in which to test this silly Easter project.  They cost me $0.99 a piece and the selection was pretty good.  The cashier and lady in line behind me bonded in fits of laughter as I explained what I was not going to be wearing these ties, rather using them to color Easter eggs.  It was a good time...LOL

After a little experimentation I was shocked to have had successfully dyed Easter eggs with silk neck ties.  I'm so glad that I decided to try this one out and highly recommend it to anyone who's looking for a fun, new way to color Easter eggs this year.

Supplies
Uncooked eggs
Glass or enamel cook pan (see note below)

• Note: The original instructions I found for this project stated that only a glass or enamel pan would work for this dying process to occur.  I assumed it had something to do with the materials of the pan and the chemical exchange between the fabric and vinegar.  I'm always curious about the limitations so I did a second batch using my plain old saucepan.  The results were the same.

Silk ties (or anything made from silk)
Plain white fabric (I used and old t-shirt)
String or twist ties (I had the best luck with jute string)
Scissors
Vinegar
Water

Instructions

• Prepare your tie for dying by cutting it open and apart.  Simply start on the backside of the tie and do some cutting and deconstructing.  It isn't terribly difficult to do. Remove all lining and tags from the main fabric.

• Once you've prepared your fabric, cut a piece large enough to completely cover your egg, gathering it at the top or the bottom.

 

• Wrap an uncooked egg with the printed side of the silk fabric facing the egg. I found that jute string was the easiest type of string to use.  It often held itself in the tied position with just one pass through and didn't need to be knotted.

• Cut a similar sized piece (enough to wrap the egg) from your white fabric.
• Wrap the silk covered egg with your plain white fabric and secure it with another piece of jute string.
• The purpose of the white fabric is to cinch your silk as close as possible to the egg, reducing the amount of possible untouched spots on the egg.  Any of those spots that do not have silk touching them will result in no print.  You can use almost any kind of white fabric BUT I suggest using an old white t-shirt.  This fabric was perfect for cinching because of it's ability to be tugged and stretched tightly.  I was even able to tug and manipulate the fabric further after having tied the jute string.  I highly recommend the t-shirt!

• Place wrapped eggs into a pan and fill pan with enough water to completely cover eggs.
• Add four tablespoons of vinegar to the water.
• Bring water to a boil and then reduce heat.  Allow water to simmer for 20 minutes. 
• Please note you may need to cook the eggs longer if you plan on eating them.  I do not eat eggs (yuck) and am uncertain as to how much time is required if they will be eatten.

• Remove your eggs from water and allow to cool.

• Gently untie and remove both fabrics from your eggs.

I had read that you can rub your eggs with vegetable oil to make them shiny.  I was originally planning to do that but then decided to give it a try and really liked how much better it made the eggs look.  Of course I'm an impatient guy so rather than drag out the bottle of oil and mess with it I grabbed my can of pan spray, gave each egg a shot of spray and then gently rubbed it around the entire egg with a piece of paper towel.  LOL

Paper Mache Eggs

If you follow my Christmas blog The Christmas Guy you'll find that I make a lot of ornaments and decor from vintage books and hymnal pages.  I've decided to use those paper mediums while on my current spring/Easter decor journey. 

I took standard plastic Easter eggs in different sizes and did a basic paper mache technique using the pages from my vintage books and hymnals.  The end result of this project left me with something to use for Easter decor that looks very vintage yet timeless.  This technique can be done with whatever type or print or paper you choose.  Try making these eggs using a paper that matches the decor already in your home and you'll have the perfect Easter accents to pull out and use every year...for years to come.  I really like how these turned out but wait until you see the next batch of eggs I've decorated.  They are definetely worth a return visit to my blog. 

These were made from a vintage book.

These eggs were covered from pages from a vintage hymnal.

Possible paper options: vintage books, brown paper bags, newspaper, sheet music, comics, favorite wrapping paper, scrapbooking paper...

Supplies
Paper of choice
Plastic eggs
White glue
Water
Bowl
Something to balance an egg on (I used an old glass taper candle holder)
Scissor and craft knife (if your eggs have "hinges" on them)
Scotch tape

Here's a picture of my very fancy egg holding tool.  It made this sticky job much easier.

Instructions

• Shred your paper.  I was careful to shred my in very uneven, odd shaped pieces in order to add dimension to my eggs

• Prepare your plastic eggs by taping them closed to ensure that they won't open.
• If your egg has a small plastic piece holding the top and bottom together then it must be removed.  To do so simply cut the tab with scissors and then shave away any plastic sticking out from the egg with a craft knife.  Doing this will allow you to have a smooth even surface.

• Create your glue mixture in a bowl by mixing approximately two (2) parts glue to one (1) part water.

• Begin attaching your torn paper piece by piece to the egg.  You need to cover both sides of every piece applied with the glue mixture.  The best way to do this is to keep a small amount of the mixture on your thumb and index finger on BOTH hands.  This allows you to pick up a piece of paper at a time, rub it in between yoru fingers to apply the glue and then place the paper on the egg.
• You will find as you get into a groove that it is most beneficial while covering your egg to have your fingers wet with glue.  If not, your dry fingers will stick to pieces already applied to the egg and the paper will be pulled off the egg.
• Because the surface isn't flat, pieces will not lay perefectly flat.  Apply a few pieces and then lightly go back to other pieces and smooth them down with your fingers.  They will have become more pliable as the glue soaks into the paper.

• Cover only the top half of your egg and allow it to dry completely.
• Once dry, flip over and repeat the same steps to the other side.

You may choose to dress your completed eggs up a little by adding glitter and or other things such as ribbon and flowers.  Glitter can easily be added by brushing on a layer of the glue mixture and covering with loose glitter or by spraying it with any canned glitter.