Here's the Best Way to Make Dyed Easter Eggs Look Way Cooler

From Good Housekeeping

Eggs are a blank canvas, giving you unlimited decorating opportunities. There are so many different looks you can go for — something traditional, geometric, cartoon-inspired, understated, so on. When it comes time to dye your Easter eggs, you have a few options: You can use a store-bought egg dyeing kit, round up extra produce to make your own all-natural dyes, or mix food coloring (regular or gel-based), water, and vinegar for an easy at-home solution.

Once you get your dyes ready, it's time to have some fun: Pick from dozens of Easter egg ideas, ranging from ones marbled with whipped cream to white eggs disguised as adorable chicks. Or if you'd rather mix in a burst of neon with your Easter decorations, try these neon splatter Easter eggs, as shown in the video above.

No matter which design you pick, the same rules apply when dyeing Easter eggs: Be patient from start to finish. First, make sure you let hard-boiled eggs sit until they are cool to the touch. Then let the eggs soak in the dye for about 10 minutes until the color is to your liking. It's simple: The longer you let eggs sit in the dye, the darker they will be.

Keeping this in mind, read on to find out exactly how to dye Easter eggs with food coloring. (Psst, if you want classic dyed eggs, stop at step #6. For neon splatter eggs, carry on to the end.)

How to Dye Easter Eggs

1. Protect your surface by covering with a sheet of newspaper, paper towel, or garbage bag.

2. Make sure hard-boiled eggs are completely cooled.

3. Stir food coloring — gel-based food coloring results in a more vibrant color — into a cup of hot water. Start with a lighter color, since you'll be dyeing over it later in the process.

4. Mix in 1 Tbsp of distilled white vinegar.

5. Carefully drop your hard-boiled egg into the cup and let it sit until it reaches your desired color. It should take about 10 minutes.

6. Remove the egg from the cup and let it dry completely.

7. Drizzle rubber cement over the dry egg. (This isn't recommended for young kids.)

8. Let the rubber cement solidify, then dip the egg into a second cup of contrasting dye.

9. Leave the egg in the cup another 10 minutes or so to let the dye set.

10. Take the egg out of the cup and let it dry completely.

11. Peel the rubber cement off the egg. It should come off easily, leaving behind a colorful paint splatter effect.

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