How To Make a Ukrainian Egg

It's Easter today, so we ought to have something Easter-related. Specifically, let's do some egg decoration.

No, not that PAAS stuff. We're doing Ukrainian eggs today. The really intricate and complicated ones. They're called pysanky.

You're going to need a couple things to create one:

*Dyes, of course (there are specific dyes you need for the purpose)
*Beeswax
*A lit candle (you will need an open flame)
*A stylus called a kistka
*Varnish, if you're going for the shine

You probably do not have a kistka, so head to LearnPysanky.com to see what one looks like. You can also decide whether to spring for the syringe and egg blower (if you want to try and suck the innards out of the egg). That site can also give suggestions for a lot of different designs you could try.

What you'll see in this video is basically a beginner's class, with a really simple design. But it's the one that best walks you through the actual process as opposed to going 'here's an egg I made earlier'. And a lot of the videos do that; this is a very time-consuming project.



He doesn't show how to get the yolk out of the egg, so this second video shows that process. This person, though, does it before designing the egg, which will make the egg more fragile throughout. No yolk means less structural integrity means it's that much easier to crack the egg.



Also, I must note the just-breaking news of the death of 60 Minutes correspondent Mike Wallace. Wallace was 93. RIP, Mike. Being a tough interviewer- particularly that tough- while still maintaining respect is getting to be something of a lost art.