Using food scraps from your kitchen to dye eggs (and fabric!) isn’t just a fun, hands-on activity—it’s an accessible way to teach creativity, sustainability, and science all at once. This guide is designed for educators, teaching artists, and workshop leaders who want to bring the magic of natural dyeing into their classroom or community space.
We’ll explore how everyday items like onion skins, cabbage leaves, black beans, avocados, and turmeric can be transformed into stunning, eco-friendly dyes. Since eggs can be pricey, we’ll also include fabric options as a long-lasting, reusable alternative—perfect for repeated lessons. And for an extra creative twist, you’ll learn how to imprint delicate leaf and flower patterns for truly one-of-a-kind results.
What You’ll Learn to Teach:
How to guide students in creating beautiful natural dye colors from kitchen scraps
Tips for preparing and processing leaves and flowers for crisp imprints
Step-by-step instructions with visuals
Includes fun Sensory Tie Dye Potion recipes, and magical color changing resources with PH shifts.
Dive into the chemistry behind natural dyeing connecting the activity with STEM learning
Troubleshooting common learnings
Accessible approaches for all abilities, with alternate processing methods to support a range of motor skills, sensory needs, and available resources
Ideas for adapting the activity for different ages, group sizes, and settings
How to care and wash, access to my labels instruction labels to send home with caretakers.
This isn’t just a project—it’s a multi-sensory learning experience that combines art, science, and environmental stewardship. Whether you’re in a school, library, summer camp, or community workshop, this resource will help you inspire curiosity, creativity, and care for the planet—while ensuring every participant can fully take part and create something beautiful.
Using food scraps from your kitchen to dye eggs (and fabric!) isn’t just a fun, hands-on activity—it’s an accessible way to teach creativity, sustainability, and science all at once. This guide is designed for educators, teaching artists, and workshop leaders who want to bring the magic of natural dyeing into their classroom or community space.
We’ll explore how everyday items like onion skins, cabbage leaves, black beans, avocados, and turmeric can be transformed into stunning, eco-friendly dyes. Since eggs can be pricey, we’ll also include fabric options as a long-lasting, reusable alternative—perfect for repeated lessons. And for an extra creative twist, you’ll learn how to imprint delicate leaf and flower patterns for truly one-of-a-kind results.
What You’ll Learn to Teach:
How to guide students in creating beautiful natural dye colors from kitchen scraps
Tips for preparing and processing leaves and flowers for crisp imprints
Step-by-step instructions with visuals
Includes fun Sensory Tie Dye Potion recipes, and magical color changing resources with PH shifts.
Dive into the chemistry behind natural dyeing connecting the activity with STEM learning
Troubleshooting common learnings
Accessible approaches for all abilities, with alternate processing methods to support a range of motor skills, sensory needs, and available resources
Ideas for adapting the activity for different ages, group sizes, and settings
How to care and wash, access to my labels instruction labels to send home with caretakers.
This isn’t just a project—it’s a multi-sensory learning experience that combines art, science, and environmental stewardship. Whether you’re in a school, library, summer camp, or community workshop, this resource will help you inspire curiosity, creativity, and care for the planet—while ensuring every participant can fully take part and create something beautiful.
