Dyeing Easter eggs is one of those traditions that we think is going to be really awesome with our little kids, but sometimes turns out not to be that much fun (kinda like carving pumpkins, right? not as much fun as you think it’s going to be with kids who are too young to do it themselves). Even if we avoid spilling dye all over the table, there are other snafus, like when two children insist they both need their eggs in the cup of blue dye RIGHT THIS MINUTE.
So, I’m always on the lookout for egg decorating ideas that are more fun and less mess, and easy enough for young kids to do without much help. This year we made tissue paper eggs, and I think this might be the best way to dye eggs with kids ever!
The best part about tissue transfer eggs is that you get beautiful vibrant colors without cups of dye water just waiting to be spilled, AND kids can decorate them on their own.
You can mix different colors of tissue paper for multi colored eggs, or stick with a few shades of the same color for a watercolor look.
The process is extremely easy – you just need tissue paper and a spray bottle of water – but there is one important thing: you must use “bleeding” tissue paper – the cheap stuff from the dollar store won’t work. This is the tissue paper I used, from Amazon. One pack comes with tons of paper, which would be enough for dozens of eggs plus quite a few more art projects. We used it for tissue transfer art last winter, which turns out gorgeous!
Because the color from the tissue paper “bleeds” when it gets wet, you will want to protect your table with newspaper, and little fingers will get some color on them (it doesn’t wash off right away but does fade away within a few hours). However, it’s still not nearly as messy as using cups of dye.
Here’s a video of the process:
And here are step-by-step photos (instructions below):
Start by cutting some tissue paper up into 1-2 inch pieces (we used strips and triangles). Then spray a hardboiled egg with water. Lay pieces of tissue on the egg – they will stick anywhere the egg is wet. If they don’t stick, just spray the egg with a bit more water. Continue layering tissue on the egg until it is completely covered, then give it one more spray. Set it aside for about 10 minutes while you work on other eggs.
At the end of 10 minutes the paper will be mostly dry. Peel it off to reveal your colored egg.
If you have lots of kids who want to dye eggs at the same time, grab a few extra spray bottles from the dollar store. You may also want to have paper towels or wipes handy for kids to wipe excess color from their fingers in between eggs.
So easy, and so pretty!
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KT Hom says
LOVE your blog and posts! It’s the source of starting many of my days with a huge smile ^_^ I’m leaving now having learned something new and everything I need to know so I can try it myself. Thx so much!
Kimberly says
Do you think it would be possible to link them the sleeves a bit? I’m curious if you tried and changing the sleeve makes the pattern not lay right.
Gigi says
Is there a brand name on the tissue paper? In not sure what to buy.
Nicole says
Are these eggs still okay to be eaten? Thanks!
skype create account says
So easy, and so pretty!
Kim says
Realllly amazing idea ! So happy with this , going to try with the brownie troop ! Less messy than spilled dye cups ❤️, thank u SO MUCH for posting this !
Sana Haris says
Really amazing idea! So happy with this, going to try with the brownie troop! Less messy than spilled dye cups ❤️, thank u SO MUCH for posting this!