Is That Your Natural Color? (Make Your Own Easter Egg Dye)

My family traditionally has an Easter Day Egg-stravaganza where we dye dozens and dozens of eggs in every color of the rainbow.  This year rather than purchasing a dye kit,  I'm going to have everyone color eggs with dyes that we can make ourselves.  Not only will this more natural and eco-friendly, but it will be a fun science experiment for the kids. 

I thought I'd share the recipes that I'm planning to try to achieve various colors.  Many of these DIY recipes were obtained from Kiwi magazine.

Dying agent:
Red/Pink:  beets or cranberries (I think this will be more of a brownish-red)
Yellow/Orange:  tumeric, cumin, or orange rinds
Green: spinach, chlorophyll capsules (available at vitamin or health food stores)
Blue/Purple:  blueberries
Brown: coffee grounds, yellow onion skins

Directions:
Add desired dying agent to water in the following ratio: 1/2 cup berries/veggies or 2 teaspoons herbs/spices per 1 cup water.  Simmer mixture for about 15 minutes.  Pour through strainer into a bowl.  Cool.  Then add 2-4 teaspoons of vinegar. 

To dye eggs, just drop hard-boiled eggs into dye and leave in dye for 5-15 minutes, depending on desired color intensity.


What about you:  Have you ever made your own dye?  Do you find the colors to be as bright as the packaged dyes from the store?