Boil, Boil, Boil your eggs first. Did I mention boiling the eggs? If you don’t, the yolks can become hard, dry and green-tinged. That makes for a very ugly egg, so boil them first.

When coloring your egg, you can buy a coloring kit or make your own with food coloring. It depends on how adventurous you are and how much time you have.

First, cover the table with plastic or paper so the dyes don’t stain the wood. Don’t forget you need one cup for each color, extra if you are planning on mixing colors together. After you paint the first coat, give the egg plenty of time to dry before adding a second coat or design to the egg. Empty egg cartons can be used for drying or a dish rack where you set plates out to dry. Paper towels and rubber gloves are optional, but they can help with getting less stain all over the table and the kids.

After they are dry, apply design or second coat of color. If using design, find all kinds of different stamps or stencils, flowers, pieces of wire, leaves, pine cones, and lots of color. Make sure no two eggs are alike. The vibrant colors of the eggs symbolize the sunlight of spring. Make your eggs sparkle with glitter or other shiny beads. Some kids like to color or design on a piece of paper and then wrap the egg in the paper. It is really up to your own imagination as to what you can do with your egg.

After you get them designed, let them dry completely and then hang them on your tree or get them hid in preparation for Easter. Pack them away carefully for use with next year’s fabulous creations.