Eggs and dyes are the two central elements of Easter crafts. Decorating eggs perfectly isn't hard; just follow our tips. If you want to save eggs from year to year or turn them into ornaments to hang from branches, blow them out instead of hard-boiling the eggs before dyeing them.

Tip: Try dyeing different types of eggs in order to vary the sizes -- use quail for smaller and goose or ostrich for larger. Also consider dyeing brown eggs to alter the range of colors you can produce.

(Quail eggs are available at specialty-food stores and localharvest.org; ostrich eggshells are avilable at uniquelyemu.com.)

To empty a raw egg, begin by using the tip of a sharp utility knife to pierce both ends of the egg; turn the knife in one of the holes to widen it slightly. Then, poke a straightened paper clip through the larger hole to pierce and "stir" the yolk. Hold the egg, larger hole down, over a bowl, and then blow the contents out with a rubber ear syringe.

Protect your work area with paper towels or newspaper. Mix 1 teaspoon of vinegar and 20 drops of food coloring (use more to intensify color) in 1 cup of hot water in a heatproof bowl, cup, or jar deep enough to let you submerge an egg completely.

To create different tints of a color, vary dipping times: Submerge eggs for less than 5 minutes for light colors, and leave the egg in for 10 minutes or more for deeper shades. Using tongs makes handling the eggs easy.

To make a two-color egg, dye the whole egg first in a light color, let dry for 15 minutes, and then submerge half into a darker color (this idea works best for hard-boiled eggs).

A drying rack made with pins and foam board keeps things neat. 

Once you've learned the basics, try some egg-decorating techniques.

Wax-resist is a technique that involves drawing on eggs with wax before you dip them in dye; the dye will adhere everywhere except the wax, revealing your design.

Adhere common supplies such as tape, stickers, or even little leaves to eggs; when you dye the eggs and remove the "masks," the designs stand out. 

Marbelizing is a technique that involves adding olive oil to egg dye to create beautiful, multi-colored swirls on the surface of your eggs.

Use rubber cement to create a look of dripped paint on your blown-out Easter eggs.

Hand-dyed eggs make great gifts, but delivering them can be tricky. Save time and effort by buying plastic half-dozen-size cartons, which you can quickly turn into attractive carriers. We dressed ours up in scalloped organdy or sheets of tissue paper, and satin and grosgrain ribbon, and affixed card-stock tags with stamped greetings.