This spring, unleash your inner artist by making an Easter-themed centrepiece. Transform hard-boiled eggs with a beautiful batiked look or an elegant marbled effect and pile them in a glass bowl, vase or basket for a stunning addition to your table.
Batik beauties
You'll need: eggs, a candle, a lighter or matches, food colouring, white vinegar, paper towels or newspapers, and rubber gloves, if desired(the dye will temporarily stain your fingers, but will wash off in the bath or shower).
Instructions:
1. Hard boil the eggs and allow to cool.
2. Make the dyes.(Be sure to cover your work surface with paper towels or newspapers, as food colouring will stain.)Mix 1/2 cup(125 mL) warm water, 1 tsp(5 mL)food colouring and 1 tbsp(15 mL)white vinegar in a small container or bowl. Repeat with three or four colours in separate bowls.
3. Dry the eggs gently with paper towels. Light a candle and hold it so the wax drips in dots, lines and blobs over many parts of one egg. These wax-covered parts will remain white when you immerse the egg in dye.
4. Using your fingers or a slotted spoon, gently place the egg in the lightest colour of dye. Leave it for a minute or longer, depending on how intense you want the colour.(Some of the wax will fall into the dye.)Remove the egg and dry it gently with clean paper towels.
5. Drip more wax onto parts of the egg that you'd like to remain that colour. Immerse the egg in the second dye, remove and dry. Repeat steps three to five for the remaining colours of dye.
6. Gently scrape off the wax from the egg using the edge of a small spoon. Allow to dry. Repeat the process with other eggs. Arrange in your bowl, basket or vase - and admire!
Tip: For extra sheen, rub a thin layer of vegetable oil on finished eggs with a paper towel.
Marbleized marvels
You'll need: eggs, one piece of cloth(approximately eight square inches)per egg, elastic bands or string, cooking onions(two or three per egg), rice or lentils, and one purple cabbage.
1. Place cloth on your work surface.
2. Remove the skins from two or three cooking onions, or for variety, pieces of torn purple cabbage leaves. Break them into smaller pieces and layer them on top of the cloth. Sprinkle a few grains of rice or lentils over the cabbage leaves or onion skins.
3. Place a raw egg on the cabbage leaves or onion skins and rice or lentils. Gently wrap the cloth around the egg so the onion skins or cabbage leaves and rice or lentils surround it. Secure the cloth with elastic bands or string.
4. Place the cloth-wrapped egg in a pot with enough water to fully cover it. If you like, add additional wrapped eggs, following steps one to three for each. You can boil the cabbage-wrapped eggs and onion-wrapped eggs together for purple and gold eggs, or separately to get purple or gold eggs.
5. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and keep at a low boil for 20 minutes.
6. With a slotted spoon, remove the eggs and allow to cool.
7.Remove the cloths and wet onion skins or cabbage leaves.
8. Gently blot the eggs dry and witness the transformation from basic white to marbled gold or purple!
Tip: For extra sheen, rub a thin layer of vegetable oil on the finished eggs with a paper towel.
First published in Chatelaine.com's May 2006 issue.
© Rogers Publishing Ltd.
