Sketch of the view from our room in Antigua at the St. James’s Club
The Husband and I had had enough of the polar vortex, the cold, the snow, the winter! A trip to the tropical Isle of Antigua helped rid us of our winter blues. The sketch above was done from the balcony of our room. Full disclosure, it’s hard to sketch when there were never ending rum punches!
We were lucky enough to get away for a week and had a grand time. However, before we left my sister had an Easter Egg coloring day with some friends and me. We decided to try these silk dyed eggs which one of us had seen on pinterest.
We’d done decoupaged easter eggs, seen here: https://carolking.wordpress.com/2010/04/10/decoupaged-easter-eggs-and-a-vision-in-pink/ This process was a little more time consuming. One needs 100% silk ties. Alice’s husband supplied some and the thrift store supplied more.
Here are the instructions:
- Cut up the silk ties in squares. Make sure they are large enough to wrap around the eggs.
- Wrap the egg with the silk square, making sure the right side is against the egg.
- Tie tightly using a twist tie
- Wrap the silk wrapped tie with another square of white cotton cloth.
- Tie tightly again using the twist tie.
- Put the eggs in a pot of water. Make sure you have enough water to cover the eggs.
- Add approx 3 tablespoons of white vinegar
- Bring water to a boil and then cook the eggs as if to hard-boil.
- Remove the eggs from the water and let cool.
- Unwrap the eggs and stare at your beautiful eggs.
Some notes:
- It’s not recommended to eat the eggs since we don’t know the safeness of the silk dye.
- My friend Jean blew the eggs out first and then did the process above so she could save the eggs forever!
- Silk scarves and blouses might work too. If you try it let me know.
- The tighter you wrap the square of silk the better the designs transfer. We were ok with the marbleized effect rather than having a perfectly transferred pattern.
Here are our results:
Here’s some info on pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/robertm/tie-dyed-eggs/ Have fun!
27 comments
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April 22, 2014 at 10:54 pm
2bcreativeblog
Those are neat! I love your sketch!
April 23, 2014 at 3:11 pm
Carol King
Thanks 2b! I appreciate your visit.
April 22, 2014 at 10:58 pm
kk2n777
Wow! The eggs are beautiful. I could have donated some of my 80’s ties…..
April 23, 2014 at 3:11 pm
Carol King
I’ll take you up on any ties you have….even if they are from the 80’s!
April 22, 2014 at 11:01 pm
Padmaja
The panoramic view is nicely done Carol and I just love those designer eggs, neat technique!
April 23, 2014 at 3:12 pm
Carol King
Ah, that view was spectacular! And the eggs looked so pretty. Thanks Padmaja.
April 22, 2014 at 11:14 pm
jimmyboi2
A vacation AND silk-dyed eggs!! Who’s better than you ?!?!?!?! Beautiful all around and I’m glad you got away and had an actual vacation… a concept I dream often of….. !
April 23, 2014 at 3:12 pm
Carol King
You need a vacation to NYC! Get your act together and DO IT!
April 23, 2014 at 6:11 am
judylobo
oooooooooooh – I love those eggs. Note for next year – I have never dyed seasonal eggs. 😦
April 23, 2014 at 3:13 pm
Carol King
Next year after the seder we can dye eggs! 🙂
April 23, 2014 at 7:10 am
doronart
Love to see you finally stretched up and the setching and eggs loooking great.. it is amazing what the sun do to us.. beautiful 🙂
April 23, 2014 at 3:13 pm
Carol King
It is amazing that the sun can make us feel so much better after a long cold winter. Thanks for your visit and comment.
April 26, 2014 at 2:42 pm
doronart
pleasure 🙂
April 24, 2014 at 2:15 am
nicsearth
Carol how wonderful to escape to Antigua for a week-sounds Bliss and I love your painting of the view from your balcony. We actually had a bizarrely warm day on easter Sunday so much so that we sat out in the garden and sunbathed (in jeans and t shirts but still! ) I even managed to get a bit of sunburn on my irish skin despite the factor 20. It made me long for a holiday somewhere properly hot so I’m envious of your trip.
The eggs look amazing-like marble.
April 27, 2014 at 6:43 pm
Carol King
It was wonderful. There were a lot of people from the UK there. We even met a lovely father and daughter from Northern Ireland. In Antigua we used SPF 50!
April 24, 2014 at 9:23 pm
lesliepaints
Wow! Those eggs are gorgeous! I remembered your decoupaged ones. These are beautiful, also, Carol. Antigua was timed just right, this year, for not having to return to a foot of snow!
April 27, 2014 at 6:45 pm
Carol King
You are right about the timing of the vacation! Glad you like the eggs. We’re gonna do it again next year.
April 25, 2014 at 10:44 am
hw (hallie) farber
I’m guessing the Isle (or the rum punch) was the cure for SAD–lovely sketch. These Easter eggs are beautiful!
April 27, 2014 at 6:45 pm
Carol King
LOL! You are right on about the rum punch and the SAD. Thanks Hallie.
April 25, 2014 at 2:21 pm
RHCarpenter
Good for you, getting away to some place warm! And those silk tied eggs look fantastic. When did Ann-tee-gwah become Ann-tee-gaa? That’s how I hear it pronounced and it makes no sense to me; of course, the older I get, the less things make sense! ha ha.
April 27, 2014 at 6:49 pm
Carol King
I’m not sure when Anteegwah changed, but the locals pronounce it with out the “gwa” sound and just the “gaa” sound.
April 25, 2014 at 6:21 pm
Joan T
Lucky you to get away to a warm location! Nice tropical sketch. I like the dyed eggs. I’ll have to check that out. We were in your neighborhood last weekend sketching the Gowanus for the Sketchcrawl…it was such fun! We missed you, and I’m sure you could have taken us to some special places.
April 27, 2014 at 6:51 pm
Carol King
I saw in your blog that you were just a few blocks from me. Had it not been Easter weekend I would have met you.
April 25, 2014 at 9:21 pm
Wendy Barrett
Hi Carol, I have just discovered your very entertaining and amusing blog via Joan T’s great blog! I hope you have recovered from your S.A.D and B.A.D and are now feeling GLAD with spring having finally arrived. Your jaunt to Antigua sounded wonderful and ever so exotic to my ears! Love your paintings and your pretty Easter eggs.
April 27, 2014 at 6:51 pm
Carol King
Hi Wendy, thank you very much for stopping by and commenting. I’ll be heading over to your place shortly.
April 28, 2014 at 8:33 am
elenacaravela
Very beautiful results Carol! I have never heard of this technique! I’ve worked with silk dyes, kinda the reverse of your eggs, but never imagined the dye would transfer. Lucky you getting away for a week! Antigua looks like paradise:)
May 9, 2014 at 1:19 pm
Judy Notestine
Your Easter eggs are beautiful! I also wanted to thank you for closely looking at our paintings on Leslie White’s blog and making such kind comments.