Dying Easter Eggs for the First-ish Time

Last week was the second time that Edith had dyed Easter eggs, but the first time I had as an adult. Last Easter was out of the ordinary -- Atticus had been born three days before, and we didn't color eggs before his arrival. When my in-laws arrived on that Sunday with a full holiday meal, they also brought supplies to color eggs with Edith outside. I was told she had fun, although I stayed inside with our newborn.

I almost skipped it again this year, although I'm glad now that I didn't. I did, however, skip the egg-dying kits and opted for this recipe: 1/2 cup of boiling water, 1 teaspoon of vinegar and 10-20 drops of food coloring. The eggs were vibrant enough for my tastes.

Edith first colored the eggs with crayons, but of course the dye was the star of the show. She mostly just liked spooning the colored water over the eggs. Only a toddler could stretch out coloring a dozen eggs into an activity that probably lasted a couple of hours!

She had so much fun, I'm wondering if we shouldn't color eggs a few times a year just for the heck of it. Always during the week before we plan to eat egg salad, of course.

(PS: Easter is over, but I have to mention a quick quirk of Atticus's birth. How many kids can say they celebrated Easter twice before their first birthday?)

Photo Friday: Edith the Artist

Edith and a friend learned a tough lesson earlier this month -- when you color on the walls, you have to help clean it up!

March 9, 2016

Adventures in Dyeing a 10-Year-Old Coat

One of my very favorite coats hasn't been looking so bright and shiny. No wonder -- it's about a decade old. Normal wear and tear on a jacket I frequently  use in the spring is to be expected, I know. But even though I still regularly get compliments on the jacket, I didn't feel so great wearing it anymore.

Luckily, the fabric itself has worn nicely. And luckily that's what I love most about it. The color (mint green meets sky blue) was nice, but it was the light flower pattern that I really enjoyed.

So on a whim I tried dyeing the coat. Last week I went into Michaels craft store for buttons but came out with a container of Rit wine-colored dye. On Friday evening, I gave it a shot.

Although you can dye clothing in a washing machine, I was too afraid of the side effects of dumping dye straight into an expensive appliance. So instead I emptied out a large container, fit it into the super old double sink in our laundry room and went to work.

After 20 minutes of stirring and some additional time rinsing it, followed by a run through the washer and dryer, this was the outcome.

Love it! There are a couple of small splotches (possibly unnoticed before the dye job, or maybe caused by uneven stirring or the fact that I added the splash of detergent to the dye mixture too late!), but I'm seriously pleased with the result. Here's hoping the coat lasts another 10 years!