Happy Easter Weekend! Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs and See's Candies

Inside me lurks a hidden crafter, she just lacks follow through. I try to embrace and indulge her from time to time and it usually results in little bags and boxes of some kind of craft supplies ending up in the closet in my spare room. Somewhere hidden in there are little glass salt and pepper shakers I was going to paint, a beading kit full of tools, beads and half-finished jewelry, empty journals and a basket of stamps, inks and card stock, to name just a few of my unfinished projects. I get seduced by the bright colors, the textures, the thought of making something myself, but I have a short attention span and will do something once and not want to do it again. 

Recent articles on dyeing Easter eggs naturally, with things from the kitchen caught my eye and appealed to both my inner crafter as well as my love for experimenting in the kitchen. I thought it would be fun to try and since the dyes come from vegetables and spices and you can eat the eggs, the big bonus is that it doesn't take up any closet space!

I decided on three colors; blue of course, which interestingly enough you can achieve from red cabbage leaves, yellow from one of my favorite spices, turmeric and finally some bright pink, a great way to use up beets. Armed with my dye ingredients, a bottle of white vinegar from my pantry and a dozen local eggs, I felt artistic, creative and oh so green and eco-chic, being able to make some gorgeous eggs. 

It was a bit of a pain and as smelly as all get out (the cabbage, beet, turmeric, vinegar combo is not for the odor sensitive person!), but it was fun and satisfying. I'm not saying I'll do it again, (remember that short attention span), but it was fun to do and fascinating to see the different tones and colors you can make. My favorites were the beautiful range of blues from the red cabbage leaves. 

I got the recipes for the yellow and pink dyes from Natural Solutions magazine and the recipe for the blue dye came from the Martha Stewart.com site, here. 

• Yellow: Mix 2 teaspoons ground turmeric powder with 2/3 cup of boiling water and 1 teaspoon of white vinegar. Let the mixture cool before coloring your Easter eggs.

• Pink: Use 4 tablespoons of freshly grated beets , 2/3 cup boiling water, and  teaspoon of white vinegar. Mix the ingredients together and begin dunking eggs immediately.

• Blue: Place 2 cups of chopped red cabbage into a pot with 2 cups water and 1 tablespoon white vinegar and bring to a boil. Lower heat and allow ingredients to simmer for 30 minutes and strain into a bowl. Let cool before dyeing eggs.

On to the chocolate!

I was lucky enough to be one of the many bloggers to receive a box of chocolates from the nice people at See's, (thanks Natashya for informing them about my chocolate loving soul!). The very nice Jon, from See's sent me a few funny emails and let me know I would be receiving my assortment this week, just in time for Easter. The great thing about See's Candies, is the sense of history and tradition it has. Founded in 1921, it is a true classic, with its familiar clean-lined black and white boxes and stores. Growing up, I was always happy to have a box come at the holidays and I kept my fingers crossed that it was a box of their nuts and chews, (my favorites). I also went through a long phase of constantly craving their chocolate lollypops and made plenty of trips to my local See's store to buy them. 

It was so nice to have the UPS guy deliver a box with a bright Easter wrapped assortment of See's chocolates inside.

My chocolates must have had a bit of a bumpy ride on their journey to Hawaii, as they were a bit unsettled when I opened them. (I know how they feel, I usually look a bit rumpled when I get off the plane in Hawaii!). 

No worries, they were easily put in order and it certainly didn't change the taste--they were the same classic, See's candies that I remember so well. 

A great little Easter gift for me and a there is nothing like a chocolate gift for Easter, Mother's Day, Birthdays, Mondays; really any time at all, to brighten your day. Thanks for the chocolates See's! I will be enjoying them.

I hope you all have a happy and healthy Easter and enjoy the weekend!