Pysanka - Ukrainian Easter egg

This Saturday I attended a class on how to make Ukrainian Easter eggs, also known as Psyanka. The eggs arent painted, they are actually written on with beeswax. Here are some some pics from the class

These are some traditional Pysanka eggs. Mine, look nothing like this!

These are the tools that we started out with: a raw egg, candle, beeswax and a kistka (a wooden stick with a metal funnel-like tool attached).  You start out with a raw egg because if you boil the egg first then the shell is different. You could always blow out your egg first, but then the egg will float in the dye and have to be held down.

      The first step (for beginners anyway) is to divide your egg for the design you are doing.

I was working off a template, not that you can tell....but you draw out  the first part of your design, whatever needs to stay white on your design.

Once your white design has been drawn on with a pencil you start to draw it on with beeswax

Scrape a small amount of bees wax into the top of the kistka and melt it with the candle. 

Trace your design with the wax

Once you have the wax design on your egg it is time for your first dye.  We used a special egg dye, but I dont  see why food coloring or paint wouldn't work just as well. 

After you have dyed your egg wait for it to dry before adding more to your design.

Next, you are going to add to your design, anything that I drew with wax on the yellow  egg will stay yellow. I outlined the flower/bee, whatever you want to call it...the you are ready for your next color

Now whatever you want to stay red should be written with the beeswax and your egg dyed again

after your final color has dried its time to remove the wax and look at your final product. Hold the egg over  the candle and melt all of the wax and wipe it away with a tissue.

Here is my final product. The colors come out so rich! This was my first egg, If I could draw a strait line it would have looked  alot better

While I was waiting for my first egg to dry, I started on my second design. I decided I wasnt going to use a template for this one, I was just going to wing it.

I think this one turned out better than the first one.

My eggs turned out ok, considering this was my first attempt.


I think I'm going to blow out the eggs that I made and put modge podge on them so they will have a nice shine.


I definitely had a good time at the class and would go back. I'm going to look online and see where I can buy a kistka and make some of these at home.