There are so many methods for easter egg dyeing out there, it really allows you to tap into your creative side.  Watercolors, nail polish, marbled pattern, tie-dye, glitter, the possibilities are endless.  I haven’t dyed eggs in years, but I thought I’d give it a try.  I went the more traditional route with the classic PAAS brand dye kit, but I played around with some fun dipping techniques to create layered effects.  I also wanted to try out decorating eggs with Sharpies.  I have a large collection of markers I use for sketching, and it seems like a total no brainer to use them for adding detailed designs to the eggs.

I had so much fun dyeing the eggs, and trying out techniques like ombre, and layering colors in interesting combinations.

The sharpies were great to work with, much easier than watercolor or acrylic paint.  They give you a huge amount of control for adding detail, plus they dry quickly, and don’t smear, which is also nice.  Just make sure your eggs are totally dry before you start to draw,  then go for it!

So much fun, I remember why I loved doing it so much as a kid.  What’s your favorite method you use to decorate your easter eggs?

I’ve been inspired by the ombre trend for a long time, and have spotted lots of fun projects around the Internet.  Two of my favorites are these napkins on Style Me Pretty, and this tablecloth on Oh Happy Day.

I’ve been wanting to make some new curtains for our living room to add a bit of color, and lighten the room up.  Aqua blue is an accent color all over our home, so I thought it would be a great color to try out for this project.  Depending on the type of dye you use instructions may vary.  I found some at my local art supply store, and used these instructions from Martha Stewart online.  For my fabric I decide to make things easy, and picked up some full size, 100% cotton bedsheets from Target.  I will tell you one thing, you’ll need a lot of salt!

I went with Procion MX Dye that I found at my local art supply store.  There are many options out there for fabric dye, so mix according to your specific dyes instructions.  Most dyes will require you to wet your fabric before dipping.  I definitely forgot this step, but the process still worked.  Soak your fabric, then wring out til no longer dripping wet.  Flatten and mark about every foot to foot and a half with straight pins.  These pins will indicate the level you’ll want to dip at for different amounts of time to get your ombre effect.  Lay down your plastic drop cloth, and now you’re ready to start dyeing!

To start dip your fabric into the bucket all the way up to the top mark you made with your pins.  I wanted to leave some white on my panels so I left the top foot or so un-dipped.  The dye will naturally wick it’s way up the cloth to create a diffused effect. Again dyeing times will depend on the product your using, but you’ll want to go in steps, for example my first dip lasted only one minute.  After this first quick dip pull your fabric out of the bucket to the level of the next straight pin.  For this second level I left mine for 10 minutes.  Repeat this step as many times as necessary for your length of fabric, using your straight pins as your guide.  On the last  level I left mine for 20 minutes to try to get the color as saturated as possible.

Once you’ve dyed your fabric it’s time to rinse. As carefully as you can transfer the fabric to your tub or basin (this is the messiest part because there’s a lot of dripping).  With cold water begin to rinse your fabric, taking care to leave any un-dyed part out of the water so it doesn’t get stained.  Try to remove as many pins as you can as your rinse so you don’t stab yourself with them.  Continue to rinse until the water runs mostly clear.  Wring out and put in the washing machine on cold water settings.  Then air dry, or machine dry.

Once my fabric was dry I ironed it, and then folded it in half, laid it out flat, and cut it down the middle to get two separate panels.  I hung them up using stainless steel curtain rings with clips that I bought at Target, no sewing needed.  However if you want to put a finished edge on them, simply sew a straight seam on the cut edge all the way up the panel.  Done!

I’m really happy with the way the curtains turned out.  They add just the right amount of color to the room, and let in a bit of blue glowing light, even when they’re not open.  As my husband said “It feels like you’re in heaven”.  Hope you’ve enjoyed my little ombre dyeing DIY.  Give it a whirl, and add a little ombre to your life!