For many, some parts of Easter are taking on a different look this year. With the soaring price of eggs, traditional coloring and decorating eggs are not happening. Well, some clever people out there are dying potatoes instead. Ward first told me about the Easter potatoes, and I was intrigued. After some Google research, I decided to try it and reserve my eggs for Easter brunch.Most videos I saw involved putting drops of coloring on the potato and then painting. There were a couple of videos in which the potato was put in a cup of dye and magically pulled out colored. I tried that method first because it seemed the easiest, or maybe it was just the most familiar.
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I had some baby potatoes in the pantry and pulled out the light-colored ones to use. I mixed up the dye according to the directions and then soaked the potatoes in it. I checked after 10 minutes and didn't see much change, so I put more dye in and waited another half hour.
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| Here are the results. The potato on the right was supposed to be purple, having soaked in both the red and blue dyes. I was underwhelmed with the results. |
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Next, I got out some watercolor paints that Ward had used in a woodworking project. I tried various combinations and came up with some interesting results.
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| After running out of potatoes, I looked around to see what else I could dye and dyed a few nuts. If I had more to work with, I think I could have perfected my color combinations with the liquid and paste paints. But that was it, and I wasn't going to buy any more potatoes just for coloring. (That's Ward in the background eating chicken while watching me make a mess.) |
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| So, I ended up with a dozen colored potatoes instead of a dozen colored eggs. |
Are you going to color eggs for Easter (assuming you celebrate Easter)?
Until next time...
How clever! I think they look pretty nice.. I haven't dyed eggs in years, so no worries here. We don't really celebrate Easter with eggs and such, just a few decorations. Some years I make Easter dinner, but will skip it this year, I think.
ReplyDeleteThe potatoes aren't as pretty as eggs, but they are fun all the same. We're having some people over for Easter brunch and will make a breakfast casserole with the eggs instead of coloring them.
DeleteI think your Easter potatoes are so cute! I would have never thought of that! I don't guess I will dye any eggs this year. My son is 20 now and those days have long gone. But, I do love looking at everyone's Easter decor!
ReplyDeleteThey look pretty good, the ones you painted yourself.
ReplyDeleteThey are colorful enough to add a little decoration to the table.
DeleteGot to share this in my Facebook group!!
ReplyDeleteDonna: Click for my 2025 A-Z Blog
It was something different to do. I saw them on TV the other day dipping giant marshmallows into dye instead of eggs. Marshmallows absorbed the dye easily, and stripes were easy to make. Maybe I'll try that next time.
DeleteI guess you don't eat the potatoes afterward since you use paint. But it seems a bit of waste. Aren't there food dyes to use to color food that can be edible? I don't do celebrate easter so no dying eggs or potatoes.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely day.
Some of the eggs were done with food safe dye. The paints were safe for kids and used on toys that may get put in their mouths, so they would probably be okay, too. However, if the potatoes were peeled, they should be fine to eat.
DeleteI was also wondering about eating the potatoes after using paint. My daughter is home from college, and we plan on dyeing eggs tomorrow. I've heard that some people were planning on dyeing potatoes--how fun that you tried it!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you ever read the Betsy, Tacy, and Tib books when you were a child, but there was a story in one of them about using the leftover egg dye to dye sand. That story always stuck with me, so when my kids were little and we had a sandbox, I would let them use the extra dye for coloring the sand. They had a blast doing it, and the rain would eventually wash away the dye.
See above for the dye question.
DeleteYou and your daughter will have fun dying eggs, and I bet you will do some creative ones. I haven't read those books, but I know someone who is in the Betsy, Tacy Society. I guess the dyed sand didn't stain there clothes? You sound like you were the fun mom.
I am thrilled about the creativity of the people and your project. The potatoes came out very nicely. Happy potato hunting!
ReplyDeleteThese potatoes are small and will be hard to find. Maybe I'll put them inside a plastic egg.
DeleteI would never have thought of coloring potatoes! Isn't there some religious significance behind Easter eggs? I dyed some eggs with my daughter when she was little, but, I haven't done so since then.
ReplyDeleteIn general, the eggs symbolize the new birth of spring. In a Christian context, some say the egg shell represents the tomb of Christ and the egg his "rebirth".
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