HOW TO DYE SPECKLED EASTER EGGS

There are all kinds of techniques for dying Easter eggs... and since the creation of Pinterest, it seems Easter eggs are more and more creative each year. I particularly love the natural look of "straight from the hen house" speckled eggs and the technique is very easy to master. Here's the how-to for easy, natural speckled Easter eggs:

How to easily dye speckled Easter eggs. Photo credit: Arden Photography Location: The Sonnet House Leeds, Alabama

SUPPLIES
Newspaper or something to protect the work surface

Hard-boiled eggs or blown out eggs (I made both)

Easter egg dye- there are tons of brands. Pick one or you can use food coloring or veggies to create a natural dye*

2 black tea bags

Plastic cups

Brown craft paint

Old toothbrush

Rubber or plastic gloves

DIRECTIONS:

Create a drying rack of some sort. I used the top of a Styrofoam cooler and some toothpicks for mine. Push in 4 toothpicks and let the eggs rest on top. But you have to rotate them so they don't have a big drip mark on the bottom side.  You can also use a circle of tin foil on newspaper.  You can use straight pins and a foam board also. 

Cover the work surface with newspaper or Kraft paper. Boil 1 cup of water and add tea bags to steep to make a strong, dark tea. While the tea is steeping, boil eggs as you normally would for dying. As they are cooling, mix dye according to package directions.

Natural looking speckled eggs look best colored pale blue, aqua, pale green, soft tan, and even violet or pale pink. (Yes, hens do lay pink eggs, I promise! ) To achieve a natural look for tan eggs, use the tea to dye the eggs. I also used a small amount of the tea to muddy the bright color of the dye to make a more natural look. Feel free to adjust the colors until you get the dye the color you want. You can re-dip them to get a darker color. I will dip then wipe with a paper towel to set a base color. Then re-dip to make a nice, pale shade.

Once you've dyed the eggs, allow them to dry completely. For the speckle effect: dip the toothbrush in a small amount of the brown craft paint and run your finger over the toothbrush, causing the paint to splatter onto the eggs. A random pattern looks good- but keep it very light for best results. Allow to dry and you've got natural looking speckled eggs.

No matter which way you color your eggs, I hope you create lots of fun memories for you and your family. Happy Easter!

DIY VALENTINE'S DAY: SURPRISE YOUR VALENTINE WITH A COFFEE HOUSE STYLE LATTE AND HEART (WITHOUT A MACHINE)

If you wake up on Valentine's Day (or her birthday or anniversary, etc) and have no gift or card ready, no worries! Your sweetheart will love your clever Valentine's Day coffee 'card' but let's be real. A heart in her coffee isn't going to get you completely off the hook but it might buy you a little time. Even if you are not an artist like the baristas at your favorite coffee shop or you don't have a cappuccino machine or milk frother at home (I don't) you can still whip up a perfectly frothy latte using a Mason jar or a whisk.

Make a latte milk foam heart like coffee shop baristas make as shown in the photo on the left or use a stencil made from tin foil to easily create a heart design in the milk foam as shown on the right. It's easy to make the milk foam, but to draw the heart design with the milk foam does require practice. I watched a video from BaristaJam.com to learn how.

SUPPLIES

Foil

Scissors

Small mesh strainer

Mason jar with lid or whisk

INGREDIENTS

Espresso or strong coffee

1% or 2% milk

Cocoa or powdered cinnamon

HOW TO:

Make a heart stencil from a small piece of tin foil. Fold a 5x5 inch piece of foil in half. With the scissors, cut half a heart like you did back in grade school. Open it up.

Put a teaspoon or less of cocoa or cinnamon into the mesh strainer.

Make strong coffee or espresso as usual. 

Be prepared to use the milk and foam immediately as it will dissolve quickly.

MICROWAVE METHOD: Pour the milk into the Mason jar or heat-proof jar and tighten the lid. Do not fill more than half full because it will expand.  Shake the jar really hard for 40 seconds until it doubles in volume. Take the lid off the jar. Microwave uncovered on high for 30 seconds. The foam should rise to the top of the jar.

STOVE METHOD: Put the milk into a saucepan. Heat through but do not allow the milk to come to a boil. Whisk the milk vigorously until it foams.

Pour the coffee into a mug and spoon the hot milk and foam on top. Gently place the stencil over the foam and dust the cocoa or cinnamon over it.  

FORGOT THE CARD? MAKE A DIY VALENTINE FLIP CARD IN A HURRY

FORGOT THE CARD? MAKE A DIY VALENTINE!

There's no reason to get caught without a card this Valentine's Day. You can easily make your sweetheart a flip card from anything you have around. I actually made this one from stuff I had in my car! (But friends do call my car the 'Swiss army car' because it has every possible thing you might ever need in it.)

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You can come up with anything you want for the title. I called mine "The 14 Reasons I Love You". This is soooo easy, so sweet, and it will get you a lot of brownie points. A homemade card is so much better than a store-bought card. Use scrap paper, scrapbooking paper, stationery, or card stock you might already have around the house. Even a thick wrapping paper or a brown paper lunch bag can work. Use a hole punch and ribbon, twine, yarn, or even wire to hold it all together.

You can certainly go the extra mile and print these out using some fancy font on your computer. But I happen to think this handwritten version is sweet and sentimental.

SUPPLIES

• Card Stock, scrapbook paper, or brown paper
• Scissors
• Hole punch or an awl (an ice pick can even work)
• Ribbon, twine, yarn or any other fastener
• Marker or pens

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut the paper to the size you want. I used some cards I already had that were the size of business cards.
2. Punch a hole in the top of each card. Make sure they all line up. If you can't punch them all at one time, use the first one as a template for the others. You can punch one in the corner or do 4 punches like I did. One on each end and two in the center to tie a bow.
3. Write out your sentiments on each card. Make sure not to write too close to the top or you will not be able to see it once you tie the fastener.
4. Stack the cards and secure with the ribbon.