To celebrate the festivities, Gemperle Family Farms has designed several all-natural crafts that make perfect gifts for friends and family.
"We admit we are egg nerds at Gemperle Family Farms and Easter is one of our favorite days of the year," said Mike Gemperle, Vice President at Gemperle Family Farms. "So we try to come up with new and exciting ways for families to spend time together and create fun, lasting memories."
For an alternative to the bunny and egg-shaped candies and chocolates, Gemperle Farms' all-natural crafts are simple and encourage kids to use nature as their tools. These healthy crafts include all-natural egg dyes and Easter egg seed bombs.
The egg seed bombs make a captivating project where kids hollow out an egg and fill it with seeds. When the egg bombs are thrown, they scatter seeds. In a few weeks, seedlings appear. Don't worry about picking up the shells; they repel snails.
"The egg seed bombs are a unique gift that are fun to throw and lead to beauty," Gemperle said. "It is wonderful watching children get excited about tending the gardens that spring up from these seed bombs."
Help welcome in spring with the Gemperle egg and these kid-friendly, all-natural crafts. The perfect combination is to take the naturally dyed eggs and use them for the Easter egg seed bombs.
Gemperle Family Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs
All Natural Dye Ingredients
Fresh eggs
2 cups of water
2 Tablespoons vinegar
Yellow: 3 Tablespoons of fresh grated root turmeric
Blue: 3 cups of chopped purple cabbage
Pink and red: 2 cups of chopped beets
Golden brown: 3 Tablespoons of loose black tea or Earl Grey tea
Orange: 4 cups of loosely packed yellow onion skins
Brown: 4 cups of loosely packed red onion skins
Directions:
Fill a medium-sized saucepan with water and put over medium-high heat.
Add in your all-natural ingredient (colors listed above) to the water.
Simmer for 15 minutes covered, stirring every few minutes.
Strain the liquid into a mug-sized container.
Add the vinegar to the water.
Let cool to room temperature.
Add eggs to the water. Remember the longer you leave the egg in the solution, the darker it becomes.
At Gemperle Farms, we found 30 minutes works best for most colors. The colors deepen the longer the eggs soak.
Easter Egg Seed Bombs
Ingredients and Tools
Plain or Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs (shell only)
Seeds (wildflower mixes, Zinnias and herbs)
Planting medium (potting soil, sawdust, compost or peat)
Small funnel
Wooden kabob stick or skewer
Wax candle
Sharpie for decorating.
Directions:
Use the skewer to poke two holes into the eggshell; the holes should be on opposite ends of the longest part of the egg. Push the skewer in and out to break up the egg inside the shell.
Blow in one end of the eggshell so the egg inside comes out the other side.
Rinse the eggshell with warm water and let dry.
Using a wax candle, safely seal one of the holes with hot wax.
Allow the wax to dry and scape clean.
Using the funnel and your skewer, fill the eggshell with seeds and planting medium. Use the skewer to help push it in.
Seal the hole with tape or wax.
Now decorate and label!
