Ukrainian eggs - wax & kistky

Now on to the actual process.

First you need eggs.

Blown.

That is the part I like least...

:P

Takes a long time. 

After you have an empty, clean, dry eggshell, you can really start.

I draw lines dividing my eggs into eights, usually, and work from that.

 

After you have a design you like sketched onto the egg, you use the kistka 

(which is heated over a candle)

to coat with wax any areas you want left white.

 

 I was thrilled with how well store bought kistky work compared to homemade.

They draw MUCH thinner, smoother lines, and almost never drip wax.

I got my kit here.

Kistky are hard to use in that you hold them differently than you hold pencils, since the tip is pointing downward, not straight.

After coating certain areas, you dip the egg into the lightest dye you are using.

In my case, this was yellow.

When your egg is blown, you have to continually press it down into the dye, otherwise it would bob to the top, and dye only the bottom bit of the egg.

Thus, my brightly colored fingers.

 (sorry, no photos...:P)

I was awfully worried my fingers would be black for the concert last week...

Thankfully the dye came off just in time. With much scrubbing.

Anyway.

Take the egg out of the dye when you like the color.

Keep in mind, that (at least in my case,) the dye is lighter after/if you pat it dry.

Pat the egg dry.

If you want.

You can also let it dry by itself, if you aren't in a rush.

I was.

;P

 

Then cover the areas you want yellow with wax.

Dip it into the next color.

Red.

  Leave it in until you like the shade of red.

I found that the order of colors is basically:

-Yellow

-Light Green

-Light Blue

-Turquoise

-Orange

-Pink

-Scarlet

-Red

-Brown

-Brick

-Dark Red

Then the final colors are:

Black, Purple, Royal Blue, and Dark Green.

Ok. Not so basic.

Continue covering areas with wax and dyeing until you are happy.

Then, the really fun part is taking an old rag and a hair drier and melting and wiping off all the wax!

My favorite part.

:)

I wasn't quite pleased with my first eggs, as I forgot the order the colors should go in.

I dipped one egg into green, and forgot the yellow.

Then I tried to dye yellow on top of the green.

:/

Thus I found that there really is a reason you have to dye in order of color.

:P

Next post I'll just show you some pics of the eggs themselves.

(sorry this took so long to post...)