ukrainian easter eggs

This is our second year making Ukrainian Easter Eggs. The dyes are vibrant and inspiring to work with even if you don't plan on using traditional wax resist techniques. In Madison I got the dyes, wax, and kistkas (wax funnel drawing tools) at Orange Tree Imports on Monroe Street. One year I ordered supplies online from The Caning Shop and was very happy with their service.

Henry is demonstrating the wax removal technique. The most magical part of Ukranian egg dying is removing the outer wax coating and seeing the vibrant colors preserved underneath.

Annalise is enraptured by her kistka. Using a kistka is really quite hard, especially the cheaper versions that we use. The wax tends to blob and flow in strange and unexplainable ways. I just encourage the kids to choose simple designs and accept the difficulty of drawing with wax. When you look at traditional Ukrainian egg design it is easy to get discouraged by the emphasis on minute details. We are always able to come up with beautiful eggs, but we just try not to focus on perfection.

Linnea's little gerbil egg.