Ukranian Easter Eggs (Psanky) -- Tutorial!

Yes....it is WAY early to begin decorating Easter eggs! We plan to make several for gifts, and maybe some for sale if we get really good at it?
This is one of my absolute favorite family traditions: Psanky, or Ukranian Easter eggs. It's a process of building up colors on an egg with the use of lines drawn in bees wax. The wax resists the dye--keeping the color underneath safe from the next round of dye! Might sound tricky, but once you get the hang of it, it's quite relaxing. :~)
These are my pencil lines to guide me through my design.


...drawing my first lines of wax with the kistka. The kistka holds just a tiny little bit of beeswax like a funnel, which is melted over a candle flame.


So many combinations to choose from!


Here's my egg soaking up some yellow. These designs need a well-planned dye-strategy!


Wine and Belgian chocolates help the creative process, right? :~)


Here's how my egg looks about half-way finished.... covered in layers of dye + wax lines.


Fresh out of the black dye!


You'll end up with quite a thick layer of wax on your egg once you're through..... time to melt it off slowly over a flame.


Clean!


We have a fancy little plunger for removing the egg innards...

All finished! A coat of varnish will gloss things up & help remove those last pencil lines. I definitely recommend trying this out for yourself if you've ever wondered about it! :~)