Easter Eggs!!!

How do you decorate your eggs for Easter?

We do a little something called Pysanky!

Before I get into the decorating and the pictures let me tell you a little bit about Pysanky and its history and part of our culture. I hope not to bore you! lol

In "Lemvishchyna" the Lemko regions of the Carpathian ranges (in Transcarpathia), pysanky are made in a different fashion from the rest of the Ukraine.

While still utilizing the basic wax-resist method, a simple pin head is used ( in lieu of a stylus) to lace molten drops of wax on the surface of an egg. The pin is then pulled sideways, creating the tail of the drop. Designs are created by arranging the drops into various configurations.

In this technique, the wax has to be kept molten during use. in the past this was accomplished by setting a small bowl of wax among embers of coal. Today wax can be kept heated in an electric glue pot, or other melting devices even simply use a votive candle and dip in the melting wax on top (doing this last one means having a quick hand) the wax dries quick! 

Only a small perccentage of the Lemko people are within the Ukraine's modern borders.

The drop pull technique is used by the Rusyn people (an ethnic Lemko Ukrainian group) in eastern Slovakia. This style of egg decoration is also common among the Lemky of Poland, as well as ethnic poles, who call their decorated eggs "pisanki" (pee-sahn-kee)

In Lithuania they also create eggs with this method, and refer to them as "marguciai." Lithuanians have an interesting variation of this technique where they use colored waxes, and leave them on the egg as a form of decoration.

We do both the clear wax resist techniques and the colored wax leave on techniques here in the house. But today we are only showing our pysanky version! 

I will explain how we make these as you scroll and take a gander at the pictures. I get wrapped up in making these I am so sorry for the lack of pictures to go with the steps.

First I get some eggs and make sure the shell is free from cracks and and imperfections the shell should be smooth no bumps or ripples. Here at this step it is fine to touch the eggs with your bare hands.

Next I drill a hole with a small tool and blow the egg out. I them rise out the eggs and leave them hole down to dry overnight. Do not touch the eggs without disposable gloves! (the oil on your hands will discolor the dye and wax will not adhere properly) The egg below can be used but it will not be the star of your collection! it will be a little off...lol these are the ones we used for the bunny to hide! lol

When they are dry no the fun begins! Using disposable gloves you can now begin drawing designs on the eggs. I have a tool but you can use a pencil with an eraser, just push a flat head pin into the eraser and use the pin head! It really works good and a lot cheaper then the tools.

Dip the pin head into the molten wax and touch the pin to the egg on a slight angle and quickly pull while lifting pin away from the egg surface.  Best way to explain this is, do like you are making a curved check mark instead of a 90 degree bend. Hopefully i'm explaining this so you can understand!

Decorate only the parts you want to remain white! Once you are happy with your design, it is time to pick your color! Regular dies do not work well, it really is best to buy the concentrated powders meant for pysanky. 

At this point you have two options you can either place a dap of wax to seal the bottom of the egg so the color does not fill the egg or you can hold your finger over the hole while dying. If you choose to stick your hand in the dye option I suggest you double up on the gloves! (Learned from experience my fingers were stained darkly for a week)

check your egg often, as these dyes work quickly, and can become quite dark very quickly!

If you want to add another color be sure you start with the lightest color and work to the darkest. I strongly suggest if you are just starting to limit yourself to 2 colors max such as the egg above. the white is pure egg the colors I used were pink then black.

Once you finished the first color and paper towel dry the egg patting it DO NOT RUB! You can add more wax designs and then go dip in your next color and pat that dry as well.

You should still be wearing gloves if they get dye on them change them out or you will mark up your egg!

Here is the best part! Lets see what that egg looks Like! Get a soft towel one specifically used for pysanky! and get your hair dryer or heat tool and melt the wax while turning the egg and carefully rubbing the egg. 

Remember it is delicate it can break very easy, and all that work will be lost! once all the wax is melted and rubbed off you can now seal the egg with your choice of sealer. Polyurethane is what I use but any clear varnish will work.

once it is sealed and dried you can touch with your bare hands!

If you have kids they can do this too! just use a white crayola crayon and let them draw away on your eggs even if they are hard boiled it won't hurt them and you can eat them if you do that. (I know some people will not eat dyed eggs.) 

If you use the crayon you can use any egg dyes you want. You can for pysanky also but you will not get the vibrant colors.

Thought I would post this early so if you want to have a go at it, there is plenty of time before Easter!

Happy Crafting and Happy Easter early! lol