Ukrainian Eggs

Pysanky is the traditional Ukrainian art of dying eggs for Easter. 

You have to pick what colors you want to use for your eggs. Virtually every color is available from fuchsia to turquoise to lime green to black!

You draw patterns on the eggs using a kistka, a tool that uses melted bee's wax.

You start with the lightest color, usually white. Everything that you want to remain white, you cover with wax, using the kistka. 

Once the design is done, you dye the egg in the next lightest color. In this case yellow. Wherever there is wax, the yellow dye will not be able to stain the egg. This preserves the white part of the design, whatever is under the first wax drawing.

On your yellow egg, you draw in wax all the parts of the design that you want to remain yellow. You then dye your egg in the next darker color, in this case turquoise. You continue like this until you obtain the designs you want in the colors that you want. 

When you are done all of the dying steps, you will end up with an egg that has a large amount of wax on it. Using the flame of a candle, you carefully melt away the wax, revealing the different layers of colors that were protected underneath.

The result is quite stunning!

This is a great relaxing crafty activity to do around Easter time. I defiantly count on making it a tradition in my family!