After seeing the shaving cream method on social media, I decided to try it and see if it would be an appropriate art activity for elementary students.
hard boiled eggs
plastic gloves (optional but highly recommended)
Begin by spraying some shaving cream on a cookie sheet and spreading it out (we covered our cookie sheet with foil for easier clean-up).
Add drops of food coloring to the shaving cream. I used regular food coloring (blue, yellow, green, red), however it was recommended to use neon food coloring.
Take a toothpick and swirl the colors around in the shaving cream.
The directions I followed recommended putting a plastic baggie on your hand to protect it from getting food coloring stains. The eggs were hard to handle wearing the baggie and I would highly recommend using plastic gloves instead. Take a hard boiled egg and roll it around in the shaving cream.
The directions I followed stated to set the eggs on a paper plate to dry for 5 minutes. I discovered that laying them on their side results in a bare spot where the egg touches the plate. I would recommend placing them in a drying rack from an egg coloring kit or in an egg carton so they stand up to dry.
After 5 minutes, wipe off shaving cream. WIPE OFF CAREFULLY AND GENTLY – if you rub too hard the dye rubs off! It was better to gently dab it off.
My directions then stated to rinse the egg with water; however, when I did this the swirled design rinsed off! I would recommend skipping this step – it did not seem necessary.
These are pictures of the eggs that were gently wiped with a paper towel and not rinsed.
This egg dyeing method was quite messy, but it did produce nice looking eggs with a swirled appearance. Plastic gloves are highly recommended!