COLORED SEED BEADS GLUED ON HOLLOW EGGS

I prepared two eggs by blowing out the insides and cleaning them with water.  Then I drew lines on the shells where I wanted to glue beads.  Seed beads are very tiny to work with and can be picked up with toothpicks and placed carefully into the tacky glue, setting aside to dry.  I did a little at a time, as this is very tedious work.  The egg on the left had the background filled in with gold glitter.  

This is a good way to save eggs that have been cracked.  The seed beads cover up any blemishes. 

MORE PISANKI BY FELICIA

MORE PISANKI BY FELICIA

PISANKA EGG DECORATING BY FELICIA

PISANKA EGG DECORATING BY FELICIA

The scratched eggs are called "Skrobanki" and are made by dyeing the eggs first and scratching a design to reveal the white egg shell.  I dye the egg first and then very lightly draw pencil lines where I want to scratch off the dye.  Then I use an sharpened nail or Exacto Knife to scratch the shell very
carefully, since the egg is so fragile.  I don't want to put a hole in the shell.  Sometimes when the white lines don't look clear enough on a regular pisanka, I scratch the white lines and then varnish over the egg to seal it.

The second group of pisanki are Batik art and represent butterfly designs on the egg shells and done with beeswax and dye.  With this method, I draw on the white or brown egg shell, which has been blown out to make it hollow.  I draw lines lightly with pencil, (don't erase mistakes...just don't wax over them).  I apply the melted beeswax by heating the pisak in acandle flame, scooping up some wax and drawing on the egg shell.  Each dye bath is done after the wax, light colors to dark, until the whole egg is dyed and waxed.  Then the wax is removed by touching close to the candle flame and wiping the melted wax with tissue.  Varnishing is the final step, to make the eggs shiny.

For anyone out there who is a Pysanky Artist, I have just discovered a new group of people who work with eggs and make the most impressive pysanky you will ever see.  The group is:
PysankyUSA.com     You can see the eggs made by the artists and even purchase supplies.  Check out their site.

PISANKI BY FELICIA

PISANKI BY FELICIA