PM, your eggs are just beautiful. I'd like to know what you mean by the Polish way. Please explain your technique when you have time. Your favorite looks just like an Easter Basket with lace around the top and very professionally done. Please share more as you make them.

Punk

Beautiful! You must have a very steady hand a they are so evenly spaced on all the designs. Can't imagine what you will come up with next, they must be "works of art" hope you are using eggs that "keep" shame to smash them or have to throw them out. Jan

Oh, gosh, those are so lovely and so perfectly done! I agree with Sunnyca, you must have a very steady hand and I hope these are not just "temporary" You sure are a talented lady PM. (Have you ever told us how/why you chose your forum name? I'm curious.) Luvs

How pretty!
Those are so creative. I love the middle one and the green one on the lower side the best.
You did a wonderful job!

Thanks everyone. I think the steady hand comes from so many years of practice! :)

Punk, the Polish way is a little different from the Ukranian way. Ukranians decorate their eggs raw -- we hardboil ours. They use a kistka (special tool) to hold melted beeswax that they can "draw" onto the egg with long smooth strokes -- we use melted paraffin wax and the head of a pin to hold only enough wax for each individual 'stroke'.

I asked my BF to take some closeup photos of me doing it to show you... the dip, and then the stroke:

The final difference is that Ukranian eggs have the wax melted off when completed, but our wax stays and leaves a really neat texture! Here's a closeup I just took with the computer camera that shows the wax. I love how it feels. :)

luvs, my handle comes from searching for party music for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. LOL!

And, BTW, these will be for decoration only and then will be composted. I usually decorate and then EAT them. :O)

I'm hoping that I'll get the time to decorate some fancier to show you -- those will be done raw, and I'll keep them. I have many still intact that I did many many years ago.

WOW, those are wonderful!! Your favorite is definitely my favorite too. Thanks for showing and explaining how you do them.
Steady hands, lots of patience...I have neither.
LOL.

hugs, Karen

PM, thank you so much for showing us the process. What a wonderful thing. I can't believe you could compost them after all the work. That would be a heartbreaker.

Please tell BF thanks for helping, he did a great job. I've enjoyed seeing this. So impressive that you come up with such creative patterns.

Punk

They are lovely! You do need a steady hand...
My husband is Ukrainian, he makes wonderful Babka and Rugelah and Kolachy.
We blow the egg out of the egg.
I have a whole set of wooden eggs painted in that style.
Next week when I get my Easter bins out, I will show them.
You did a wonderful job!

PM, your talents are so A M A Z I N G! I can't imagine eating or composting such art. TFS

PMusic...your eggs are works of art...these are just beautiful! All of them are gorgeous...and you turn them into compost! (of course, they could smell kinda funny after a bit!) I hope you do wooden eggs also.. for posterity! TFS! Jeanne S.

You must have really had a lot of practice, because they look perfect. You are really talented. I'm with Jeanne, that's a lot of work just destroy.
Syble

Kathleen, you are correct... the Ukranian eggs are blown out. The Ukranians that I know decorate them raw (intact) so that they can get them down into the dye baths, and they blow them out after they're decorated. I was surprised that they use RIT dye for coloring! they said it gives more intense colors. I guess so! Since we eat ours decorated this way, it's essential to use food coloring.

Thank you all for the kind comments! It's really not amazing... gosh, I think I started doing these when I was about 5 years old. :O) Eating (or ultimately destroying) the decorated eggs isn't a big deal at all! They usually only take me around 15 minutes per egg like this, and it's very relaxing and fun for me... sort of like doodling.

I remember going with my grandmother to the church yard on the day before Easter to have the priest bless the decorated eggs. Growing up it was imperative to do the e.egg hunt and then have babka and decorated eggs for Easter morning breakfast. :)

Wish you were all near here... I'd decorate one for each of you! including writing your name on it in wax. :)

Those are truly beautiful. I have no egg talent, so I just use some old wooden ones that someone gave me years ago. You are an artist, and I am waiting to see the fancier ones, but these are wonderful!
Thanks for posting and for the lesson,
J

Just BEAUTIFUL!! You are very talented and have lots of patience too! They look just great!

You are one very talented gal, PM! Thanks so much for, not only showing us your BEAUTIFUL decorated eggs, but for taking the time to show us how you do them. I've really enjoyed it all and look forward to see any more that you make.
Lynn