Prepping for Easter and PAAS

Ah, Springtime and Easter...a time to think of lovely, farm fresh eggs...

...and little bunny rabbits...

...and fine candies to nibble...

 

OR, AS IN MY CASE...the annual DP vs. chocolate bunny smackdown...

The attempt to take "artsy photos" of Easter deco being interrupted by Smoky, the stalker cat:

...the amusement of watching Killer Diller attack the Easter grass...

and finally...the boiling of some 8 dozen eggs for dyeing and deviling:

Sadly, not all eggs could take the pressure of the holiday:

Now, each year, my friend and I like to celebrate the holiday by purchasing the "latest and greatest" inventions for dying and decorating Easter eggs. This is because we have no children and can do this without too much mess and drama.  Each year, we are treated to abject failure and copious amounts of rage and indignation as these kits fail to deliver the advertised results.

Was this year any different?  Well, here's the 2012 scorecard:

While we struggled with our "fancy kits", DP took charge of the "normal process" - dye, vinegar and water:

 DP's results were pretty good:

 DP is so creative with that tape:

Meanwhile, on the other side of the table...several eggs were attempting to escape as we tried desperately  to tattoo them...to no avail...

KIT USED ABOVE: PAAS EggToos
PRICE: $1.99
RESULTS: Eggs broken by our pathetic attempts to transfer tattoo designs onto the egg.  Not one tattoo transferred.

KIT USED ABOVE: PAAS Stencils kit
PRICE: $1.99
RESULT: Another perfectly dyed egg ruined by the paper stencils that don't stay in place and the runny paint that didn't stay on the (provided) sponge wedge.

More evidence of Tattoo kit "egg abuse" (that's the stencil stuck on the egg below the crappy "transfer"):

Now on to better results:

KIT USED ABOVE: PAAS Neon colors
PRICE: $1.99
RESULT: Awesome! Easy! Dye tablets in water, 3 tablespoons vinegar and you are ready to go! Colors very bright.

The hands down winner of the day is this kit though:

KIT USED ABOVE: PAAS Eggarounds
PRICE: .99 cents for 12 Eggarounds
RESULT: AWESOME! EASY! Place plastic wrap around egg, dip in hot water and in 2.5 seconds...plastic cover shrinks down to cover egg. Next year maybe I will do just these.

NOTE:  we were unable to test the "Molten Magic" kit.  When reading the instructions on the back, step two indicates the eggs must be freshly boiled and still hot.  We'll save this one for next year...

After the arduous task of testing pathetic PAAS kits passed...it was time to denude some 6 dozen eggs:

A short time later, band aides protecting my raw thumb, the eggs....were...ready.

Let the deviling begin!

Finally!  It was time to pack up the car and head north for an hour's drive with 2 dozen colored eggs and 150 deviled eggs.
Next Blog:  The Easter party... the kids, the eggs, the food, the baskets, the horror and humor of the holiday in all it's glory!