martha stewart’s easter eggs!

The second I pulled the April issue of Martha Stewart Living out of my mailbox, I knew, just from looking at the cover, what this week’s Magazine Monday would be – Easter egg dyeing!  Michael & I usually just buy the Paas kit at the grocery store, a dozen or so cheap eggs, and go to town; but this year, we were eager to try something different, more complicated, and possibly a little more rewarding… all in the name of Magazine Monday!

In the past, Michael and I usually hit the grocery store the day before Easter, along with everyone else.  But after seeing the the article, we decided that in order to try something a little more complicated than the “special” crayon in the Paas kit, we should tackle this one a week early.

We knew our dear friend, Julia, would be up for an afternoon full of dyeing Easter eggs and munching on Girl Scout cookies with us, but when she arrived at our house and saw our setup of stencils, craft knives, and hole punches, we were more than a little worried that Julia would tuck tail and run, but, thankfully, she didn’t!  She was intrigued by the pictures and tutorials in the magazine and was eager to start on her own creations!

After trying the vinyl stenciling on a few eggs, we were bummed to learn that no matter how air-tight you thought the stencil might be, it was inevitable that dye would find its way through.  Julia found that cutting pieces of electrical tape provided a much more dye-tight seal.  Unfortunately, the fun ampersands, initials, and labrador silhouette could not be cut out of electrical tape.  Smudged designs or not, we still had a lot of fun working on and laughing at each other’s eggs!

Here are a few of Julia’s eggs!  To further embellish her designs, Julia used a Q-tip dipped directly in dye and let her creativity lead the way.

Julia’s boyfriend, Matt, who lives and works in Connecticut couldn’t be here for the egg dyeing extravaganza, so Julia made a special egg for him: J <3 M.

A few eggs a la Michael & Meredith!

We are totally those dog owners – the ones who make not one, but two Easter eggs for their dog.

In typical Julia-fashion, she showered with us yummy & adorable Easter goodies and napkins for hosting the egg dyeing party!  How cute are these?

Happy egg-dyeing week!  If you’re up for an adventure, give some of Martha’s designs a shot.  Either way, electrical tape can add a fun, geometrical twist to any dyed Easter egg – we definitely recommend trying it!