One fun Easter idea is to decorate your eggs after the Ukrainian style, using a copper stylus to write with wax on the outside of the egg while dying it, in order to create a unique pattern or design.
If you want to make a Ukrainian Easter egg, here is what you need to do:
First, get everything you need ready. You are going to want to prepare your dye baths. Start by aligning your dyes in bowls from the lightest to the darkest. You will also want to prepare your wax. Have some beeswax on hand, and a copper stylus, as well as a heating element to heat the stylus and melt the wax (a candle that is lit works well). You also need an egg, preferably one without blemish, and that has been left on the counter, or wherever, until it reaches room temperature. Once you have everything ready to go, move on.
You need to decide the pattern you want for your egg. You can draw it on with a pencil, just be sure to do it lightly. If you do not want to make the pattern up yourself, then you can find a traditional Ukrainian pattern online.
Next, you are going to start with the lightest color, and go from there. So, start with white. Anything in your design that you want to remain white, you are going to cover with wax. Draw it onto the egg with the stylus that holds the beeswax. Once you have it drawn on, dip the egg into the lightest color of wax’s bowl. Let it sit for about fifteen minutes. Then take out and dab dry (remember to dab not wipe, as this can mess up the wax).
Now, draw on the egg again with wax for whatever areas you want to remain the color of your lightest dye. Then, repeat the process, dipping it in the next darkest dye, all the way until your egg is almost all covered in wax, and you have dyed in every color of dye, getting progressively darker.
When you are finished your egg should be nearly completely covered, and should be black, or a dark color. You will then want to wait until the egg is completely dry. Once it is, you have to melt the wax to remove it from the egg and reveal the beautiful Ukrainian egg below. So, hold the egg to the side of the candle flame, or use a hair dryer to melt the wax. Then, use a tissue to wipe it off and reveal the design beneath.
It is important that you be careful so as not to crack or ruin the egg during the process. In addition, you want to make sure you do not cook the egg, as this will result in it spoiling fairly quickly, which will smell bad. Instead, let it dry out on it’s own.
