Coloring Easter eggs is something I never outgrew. I love all the egg dying kits from dips to foils to the cheap ones they sell at the grocery store. I love holding a warm hard boiled egg and painting designs on it with a Q-Tip. I love the colored vinegar that gets stained on your hand for days. I love the funny dye smell. And I love eating pink and blue egg salad sandwiches for a week.

Another thing I love is stickers. I've even considered taking up scrap booking just to further my sticker fetish. Instead I hoard them in a Cardcaptors sticker kit in the corner of my room, awaiting the perfect surface to embellish with my sticky treasures.

The original Peeps egg dying kit came in the traditional cheap cardboard box. This one I located at my local Dollar Tree. A fantastic deal considering it comes with a $1 off Peeps coupon. It comes with "Egg Jewels" which are fancy terms for gem stickers. There's cute little Peeps gems and flowers, hearts, and even the Peeps logo. Simple, to the point, and still fun.

One of the great benefits about getting the bunnies as opposed to the chicks, is that you can actually decorate the eggs like bunnies. You get the stickers plus cute little bunny ears. I don't know why you can't dress up the chicks like chicks, but hey, the bunnies are so distractingly cute I don't really care.

Now they have new Dudley's kits of both the Peeps chicks and bunnies persuasion. It comes with everything for dipping eggs and adding stickers. It doesn't say you can do this, but you can also get some Q-Tips and dip them in the dye to add other designs if you like.

It's always more fun to dye Easter eggs with someone you love. Luckily my sexually confused male cat, Catreece, was more than willing to assist. He helped by holding down all my stickers and cardboard stands -- with his ass.

I prepared cups for each color. I added extra vinegar for "bright colors." I like using these cheap Gladware containers because if I dye them green or blow them up I can just toss them and buy another set next time I go to Wal-Mart.

The blue turned amazingly bright. Green was a close second. The pink was awful, it wasn't turning much of anything. Eventually I just mixed some blue in and made an attempt at purple eggs. Stick the eggs on the sparkly stands, slap some stickers on top, and you're done! Beautiful. Now get to work on those deviled eggs, egg salad, tuna salad, potato salad, cobb salad, red beet eggs, curry eggs, egg sausage casserole, pickled eggs, and egg mice.

-Mystie

mystie@crowncombo.com