DIY Egg Decoration Design Idea

Easter is upon us and bunnies abound. Whether you're gathering the kids for the annual egg dyeing tradition, or you're getting crafty with DIY decorations, we've got all the info you're looking for to make and display gorgeous Easter eggs this year. Our favorite tips from around the web:

Practical Considerations

This is messy business, so start out by protecting your workspace with newspaper, a plastic drop cloth or an old sheet and break out the rubber gloves if you're concerned about staining your hands. If you don't already have what you need, REAL SIMPLE has your shopping list and the basic 1-2-3 of egg dyeing.

Hard-boiling your eggs is best for kids projects, so allow enough time for them to cool down before little fingers handle them. You don't want to speed up the cooling process by dunking them in cold water, because you'll end up with a lot of cracked shells.

To make longer lasting ornaments that can be displayed from year to year, take the time to blow the egg out of the shell before dyeing them, as demonstrated by Martha Stewart. The master also advises buying different types of eggs, from tiny quail eggs to giant ostrich eggs, for added visual interest when displaying them in groups.

We loved Frugal Living's suggestion to skip the egg dyeing kits and make your own using items that you already have at home, like vinegar and food coloring. KIDSCOOKING offers the step-by-step project that you can share, so you can get creative AND impart some money-saving lessons, too! You'll love these safe, easy to follow recipes for eleven different colors of homemade egg dye. Try using brown eggs for even more variations in color.

Creative Ideas

To create new patterns, follow these easy how-tos from Epicurious. Use tape or stickers, rubber bands, or wax to make beautiful and unexpected designs. Blend colors or try using different concentrations of the same dye and double dip for an ombre effect.

Even more techniques for painting eggs, including a very cool tissue paper method that results in a stained glass-like effect can be explored at Dyeing Easter Eggs (it is that easy!). Try "pearlizing" your eggs with a special mica-infused substance for a truly elegant result.

Wikihow gives great directions for marbling, sponge-dipping, applying polka dots, and glitterizing your eggs. The page also offers practical advice, like keeping the egg cartons for drying, or better yet, placing them on a wire cookie racks for less smudging.

Dyeing eggs is a favorite Easter tradition, but the best part is how many different ways there are to do it. Do you have a favorite technique we didn't uncover? And don't forget to comment below and let us know what you like to do with your eggs once they're all dressed up and ready for a very happy Easter!

Many years have passed since my own youthful days of enjoying holidays and the activities and crafts that go along with them with my parents and siblings; I still enjoy these holidays today with my own kids.

Halloween involved black and orange construction paper that was shaped into witches, pumpkins, and cats and taped in the window panes. Carving the jack-lantern and enjoying its spooky glow in the dark was great fun.

Christmas involved popcorn garland, tree decorating, and cookie baking. Easter, of course, was a time for decorating eggs to be hidden on the celebrated Sunday and hunted by the young ones.

My father and mother did hide some special plastic eggs, some with quarters or dollars hidden inside, trying to be sure each child "found" one of these treasured prizes. The fondest memories, though, are those of sitting at the kitchen table with different colored bowls of dye and having a chance to let my imagination and creativity go to work.

I think back on some of those boiled eggs that endured all that handling and hiding, how anyone could eat an egg after all that, so cracked and dented and going unrefrigerated for any length of time.