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You can make these holiday beauties by usingdye materials from field, forest, and Am

COLORFUL EASTER EGGS... NATURALLY

Springtime is traditionally a season to be spent appreciating the new life that appears all around us and renewing our ties with nature ... and it's especially fitting to celebrate spring's arrival by dyeing Easter eggs with natural tints. After all, coloring doesn't have to come out of a box: In fact, a couple of generations back, folks couldn't buy "quick-fizz" dyes. Instead, most of them gathered familiar materials (berries, roots, twigs, fruits, vegetables, and flowers) with which to color their Easter treats ... and if you do the same, you'll be able to develop a wide range of subtle, earthy colors to make your "rites of spring" truly appropriate to the season.

THE SYSTEM

The basic method for preparing a natural dye is to chop up whatever ingredient you've chosen and put the pieces, with enough water to cover them, in a stainless steel or enamel pan. Don't use aluminum utensils ... the chemical reaction could inhibit the effect of the dye. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Many wholistic health experts believe that cooking should never be done in aluminum.] Next, add a teaspoon of vinegar to each pot of color you're concocting (except any made with onions) to help the dye adhere to and permeate the eggshell.

At this point, you can proceed by either of two methods: If you want to color your Easter decorations as speedily as possible, simply place fresh eggs right in with the dye fixin's, bring the pot to a boil, and allow the orbs to simmer for about 20 minutes. This way, the eggs will cook and color at the same time. If you prefer, though, you can put the dye materials alone through the same 20-minute brewing process, then strain out the solids and (using a slotted spoon) lower the eggs — which you've hard-cooked, drained, and allowed to dry while the dye was simmering — into the "broth". Either way, of course, the longer you let the eggs stand in the solution, the deeper their hue will be.

Should you want to decorate your Easter charms with more than just color, you can arrange fresh leaves and flowers on their surfaces and wrap them in cheesecloth-or draw designs and messages on their shells with wax— before dipping them into a dye. (See MOTHER NO. 62, page 89 for further details on how to imprint such designs on Easter eggs.)