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  4. 18 Creative Easter Egg Ideas That Are Actually Doable

18 Creative Easter Egg Ideas That Are Actually Doable

Real Simple Author
By Real Simple Editors Updated February 05, 2021
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Easter egg ideas - easter egg decoration ideas (tape eggs)
Credit: PHILIP FRIEDMAN; STYLING: BLAKE RAMSEY

When it comes to Easter egg coloring, sometimes the easiest Easter egg ideas are the best ones—especially if you're decorating with kids. Sure, elaborate Easter egg designs are stunning, but they also can take a long list of supplies, a steady hand, and a crafty eye. If you're lacking any one of those things, your Easter egg efforts can quickly fall apart. Fortunately, doable Easter egg ideas can be just as pretty—with much less effort.

After boiling Easter eggs, picking the right colors and designs for your spring-time creations can be a fun, playful activity. When you focus on the process, it doesn't matter what the final outcome is, because you had a good time—but with these decorations, you'll have fun and have a final egg collection you can show off, too.

Whether you want to try homemade egg dye or take the no-dye Easter egg route, these clever ideas have you covered for all your Easter egg needs. Some may even surprise you by how easy (and mess-free) they are. 

RELATED: When is Easter?

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Confetti Easter Eggs

Easter egg ideas - Confetti Easter Eggs
Credit: Natasia Hanratty

This decorating idea works for both dyed eggs and undyed eggs if you want to skip the messy dyeing process altogether.

What you'll need:

  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Washi tape
  • Scissors

How-to:

  1. Cut small shapes out of the washi tape, like triangles or lines.
  2. Arrange the washi tape stickers on each egg to create a fun and colorful confetti-esque pattern.

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Cactus Easter Egg

Easter egg ideas - Cactus Easter Egg
Credit: realsimple.com

Few Easter egg ideas are quite as cute as this houseplant-inspired one—and fortunately, it's an easy craft, too.

What you'll need:

  • Vinegar
  • Warm water
  • Green food coloring
  • Hard-boiled egg
  • Mini terracotta pot
  • Masking tape
  • Sand
  • Green marker
  • Pink crepe paper or tissue (optional)
  • Glue dot (optional)

How-to:

  1. Create the dye bath: Pour 1 cup hot water and 1 tablespoon white vinegar in a wide cup or small bowl. Stir in 20 drops of green food coloring.
  2. Soak egg to desired hue, remove and pat dry with paper towel.
  3. Use a fine-tipped dark green permanent marker to draw spikes or lines.
  4. Cover the hole at the bottom of the terracotta pot with masking tape. Fill with sand and nestle egg inside.
  5. Optional: Cut flower from crepe paper and attach to the top with a glue dot.

Craft developed by Blake Ramsey.

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Marbled Easter Eggs

Easter egg ideas - Marbled Easter Eggs
Credit: Emily Kinni

These pretty marbled Easter eggs take less work than you'd think—though you wouldn't know it to look at them.

What you'll need:

  • Baking pan or plate
  • Shaving cream
  • Liquid food coloring
  • Toothpick or chopstick
  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Drying rack
  • Paper towels or cloth

How-to:

  1. Cover a baking pan or plate in a layer of shaving cream.
  2. Add stripes and dots of assorted food coloring to the pan. 
  3. Use a toothpick or chopstick to swirl colors throughout the shaving cream.
  4. Roll the egg around in shaving cream, leaving a thick layer of shaving cream on eggs.
  5. Leave egg on a drying rack or plate, and let it dry overnight or at least several hours. Repeat with other eggs.
  6. Wipe off eggs.

Craft developed by Morgan Levine.

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Cracked Easter Eggs

Easter egg ideas - Cracked easter eggs
Credit: Jens Mortensen

It's what's inside that counts with these simply smashing Easter eggs—they turn the stress of cracking into an artful plus.

What you'll need:

  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Spoon
  • Food dye
  • Vinegar
  • Water

How-to:

  1. Let eggs cool, then tap the shells gently with the back of a spoon to create a fragmented surface all over.
  2. Fill a quart-size container with a tablespoon of a richly toned food dye, plus 1 tablespoon vinegar and 3 cups water. Dip an egg (or several at once) and keep submerged for about 30 minutes. For supersaturated color (as shown here), soak eggs in the dye overnight in the refrigerator.

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Mustached Easter Eggs

Easter egg ideas - Mustached Eggs
Credit: Philip Friedman; Styling: Blake Ramsey

Bring some humor to the decorating table. These little men will have the kids in stitches and can even double as Easter Sunday table decor.

What you'll need:

  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Adhesive googly eyes
  • Colorful mustache stickers
  • Construction paper
  • Tape
  • Scissors
  • Glue dots

How-to:

  1. Stick eyes and 'staches on the eggs.
  2. Create a round paper stand to keep your little version of Humpty Dumpty from, well, having a great fall.

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Easy Striped Easter Eggs

Easter egg ideas - Easy Striped Easter Eggs
Credit: Natasia Hanratty

Get creative with rubber bands from your junk drawer for these colorful, color-blocked eggs.

What you'll need:

  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Rubber bands
  • Heat-proof bowls
  • Boiling water
  • White vinegar
  • Liquid food coloring
  • Paper towels or clean cloth towel
  • Large spoons or tongs

How-to:

  1. Wrap each egg with several small rubber bands. Play with the number of rubber bands, the thickness of the bands, and their spacing.
  2. Combine 1/2 cup boiling water, 1 teaspoon vinegar, and liquid coloring; about 20 drops should do for each color. Repeat in separate bowls for each color.
  3. Once you have the rubber bands placed securely, place each egg into the dye bath and let sit for about 5 minutes.
  4. Remove the egg, dry it off with paper towel or cloth, then take off the rubber bands to reveal your striped design.

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Printed Easter Eggs

Easter egg ideas - Newsprint Easter Eggs
Credit: Emily Kinni

Dig old paper napkins out from wherever you've tucked them away for this colorful Easter egg idea.

What you'll need:

  • Paper napkins
  • Scissors
  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Craft glue
  • Paint brush

How-to:

  1. Separate out the colorful layer of a paper napkin and cut into half-inch strips.
  2. Brush craft glue onto egg and and apply the strips, lining up the design on each strip and trimming ends as you go along.
  3. Paint a layer of glue over entire egg to smooth wrinkles and create a satin finish.

Craft developed by Morgan Levine.

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Two-Tone Easter Eggs

Easter egg ideas - Two-Tone Easter Eggs
Credit: Natasia Hanratty

This almost-tie-dye look is a playful option that doesn't take too much effort.

What you'll need:

  • Heat-proof bowls
  • Boiling water
  • White vinegar
  • Liquid food coloring
  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Mini muffin tin
  • Paper towels or clean cloth towel

How-to:

  1. Combine 1/2 cup boiling water, 1 teaspoon vinegar, and liquid coloring in a bowl; about 20 drops should do for each color. Repeat in separate bowls for each color.
  2. Pour dyes into mini muffin tin.
  3. Gently place an egg into each slot of the tin, so that only one-half of the egg is submerged in the dye. You may need to adjust the level of the dye to make it higher or lower, depending upon the desired effect.
  4. Let sit for about 5 minutes, then remove the egg and dry it off with a paper towel or cloth. For a two-tone look, turn the egg over and dye the other half in a contrasting color.

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Chick and Bunny Easter Eggs

Easter egg ideas - Chick and Bunny Easter Eggs
Credit: Emily Kinni

Celebrate the symbolic animals of the season with this too-cute craft.

What you'll need:

  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Fine-tipped Sharpie
  • Paper (white, pink, and orange or yellow)
  • Scissors
  • Craft glue
  • Toilet paper
  • Yellow and green paint
  • Paint brush
  • Paper towel tube

How-to:

For the chick:

  1. Draw eyes, nose and whiskers onto the egg using a fine Sharpie.
  2. Cut out paper bunny ears. Attach each ear with craft glue.
  3. For the nest, cut a portion of a toilet paper tube in a spiral strip.
  4. Paint the tube yellow. Manipulate the spiral into a tangled nest shape.

For the bunny:

  1. Draw eyes onto the egg using theSharpie.
  2. Cut out paper wings and beak, and attach with craft glue.
  3. Cut a segment of paper towel tube roll and cut one edge in a jagged shape to mimic grass.
  4. Paint the tube green. If it's too wide for the egg, cut a slit and tape the tube shut at a smaller diameter.

Craft developed by Morgan Levine.

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Personalized Eggs With Letters

Easter egg ideas - Personalized Eggs with letters
Credit: Philip Friedman; Styling: Blake Ramsey

If you frequent the craft or office supply store, then your decorating is halfway done. Once you've hard-boiled the eggs, let little fingers spell out their names, pop on initials, or create favorite phrases.

What you'll need:

  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Letter stickers

How-to:

  1. Apply stickers, decals, and other decorations to eggs.

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Dip-Dyed Easter Eggs

Easter egg ideas - Dip-Dyed Easter Eggs
Credit: Natasia Hanratty

Give your eggs a pretty watercolor look with some careful dipping.

What you'll need:

  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Whisk
  • Heat-proof bowls
  • Boiling water
  • White vinegar
  • Liquid food coloring
  • Large spoons or tongs
  • Paper towels or clean cloth towel

How-to:

  1. Combine 1/2 cup boiling water, 1 teaspoon vinegar, and liquid coloring; about 20 drops should do for each color. Repeat in separate bowls for each color.
  2. Place an egg inside whisk. Lower the end of the whisk into a dye bath, stopping when the egg is half dipped into the dye.
  3. Leave the egg submerged for a couple minutes, then remove it and dry off the egg with a paper towel or cloth. You can leave the design as-is, or to create a two-tone egg, rotate the egg and dip-dye the other side in a different color dye.

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Dotted Easter Eggs

Eggs with magazine dots
Credit: Emily Kinni

Think of this ideas as collaging, but with Easter eggs!

What you'll need:

  • Magazines and newspapers
  • Hole punch
  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Paint brush
  • Craft glue

How-to:

  1. Use a hole punch to create dots from the pages of the magazines and newspapers.
  2. Use a paint brush and craft glue to apply dots to eggs.

Craft developed by Morgan Levine.

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Natural Dyed Easter Eggs

Easter egg ideas - Natural Dyed Easter Eggs
Credit: Emily Kinni

For a more pastel approach to your Easter eggs this year, try making a homemade dye.

What you'll need:

  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • White vinegar
  • 2 cups chopped red cabbage or skins of 4 yellow onions or 3 tablespoons turmeric
  • Water
  • Strainer
  • Tongs
  • Cloth or paper towels

How-to:

  1. Wipe down all eggs with white vinegar.
  2. Boil red cabbage (or onion skins) with 2 cups water for 10 minutes, covered. Strain out the cabbage.
  3. Take the water off of the stove, and place the eggs in the water while still hot. The longer they sit in the dye, the more intense the color. Remove with tongs and let dry.
  4. If using turmeric, mix into 2 cups of boiled water and let eggs soak for five minutes.

Craft developed by Morgan Levine.

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Nature Easter Eggs

Easter egg ideas - Easter Eggs With Stickers
Credit: Philip Friedman; Styling: Blake Ramsey

Does your daughter love butterflies? Does your son prefer birds? After you've hard-boiled the eggs, let the kids go crazy sticking favorite creatures (butterflies, bees, birds) or symbols (who doesn't love hearts?) on their bunch.

What you'll need:

  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Nature stickers

How-to:

  1. Apply stickers to eggs.

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Doodled Easter Eggs

Easter egg ideas - Wax Resistant Easter Eggs
Credit: Natasia Hanratty

Use a clear or white wax crayon to doodle whatever you want on your eggs before dyeing them for these pretty, creative Easter eggs.

What you'll need:

  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • White or clear wax crayon
  • Heat-proof bowls
  • Boiling water
  • White vinegar
  • Liquid food coloring
  • Large spoons or tongs

How-to:

  1. Using a white or clear wax crayon, draw any designs you like onto each egg. Try polka dots, geometric shapes, and names to start.
  2. Combine 1/2 cup boiling water, 1 teaspoon vinegar, and liquid coloring; about 20 drops should do for each color. Repeat in separate bowls for each color.
  3. Dip each egg into a dye bath and let sit for about 5 minutes, turning occasionally to make sure the egg is dyed evenly. Remove the egg with tongs to reveal the designs.

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Striped Easter Eggs

String Easter Eggs
Credit: Emily Kinni

Make use of all those extra friendship bracelet strings with this colorful, geometric egg idea.

What you'll need:

  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Friendship bracelet string in different colors
  • Scissors
  • Craft glue
  • Paintbrush

How-to:

  1. Cut a few contrasting colors of string into different lengths. This will make it easier to wrap string around the egg.
  2. While wrapping the string tightly around the egg, use craft glue and a paintbrush to adhere string to the shell. Trim excess string as necessary.

Craft developed by Morgan Levine.

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Washi Tape Easter Eggs

Easter egg ideas - Washi Tape Easter Eggs
Credit: Philip Friedman; Styling: Blake Ramsey

Washi tape is stepping onto the springtime scene just in time for decorating eggs. After you've hard-boiled your dozen, let the kids add some colorful designs. When it comes to the palette, let the kids mix and match. We're crazy about neon for an extra bit of punch.

RELATED: Easter Quotes

What you'll need:

  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Washi tape in various colors
  • Scissors

How-to:

  1. Apply tape to eggs, cutting into pieces as necessary.

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Sharpie Easter Eggs

Easter egg ideas - Sharpie Easter Eggs
Credit: Emily Kinni

The beauty of this Easter egg decoration is that you can decorate yours however you want—and if you're decorating with kids, they can each create their own artwork.

What you'll need:

  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Sharpie
  • Egg dye (if desired)

 

How-to:

  1. You can use plain eggs, but we chose to dye our eggs beforehand.
  2. Once the dyed eggs are dry, use a Sharpie to draw designs on the eggs. You can use ours for inspiration, or create your own!

Craft developed by Morgan Levine.

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    1 of 18 Confetti Easter Eggs
    2 of 18 Cactus Easter Egg
    3 of 18 Marbled Easter Eggs
    4 of 18 Cracked Easter Eggs
    5 of 18 Mustached Easter Eggs
    6 of 18 Easy Striped Easter Eggs
    7 of 18 Printed Easter Eggs
    8 of 18 Two-Tone Easter Eggs
    9 of 18 Chick and Bunny Easter Eggs
    10 of 18 Personalized Eggs With Letters
    11 of 18 Dip-Dyed Easter Eggs
    12 of 18 Dotted Easter Eggs
    13 of 18 Natural Dyed Easter Eggs
    14 of 18 Nature Easter Eggs
    15 of 18 Doodled Easter Eggs
    16 of 18 Striped Easter Eggs
    17 of 18 Washi Tape Easter Eggs
    18 of 18 Sharpie Easter Eggs

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