You need ...

- colored markers or crayons (yellow, orange, red, black)

- pictures of pysanky designs. Need ideas? click here or here!

- a copy of an egg-shaped outline to draw designs on. Don't have one? Click here!

You might want to ...

blow the liquids out of the eggs before you make the pysanky egg. (You don't have to: traditionally the eggs were decorated whole.) To empty the eggs ...

1. With a sharp needle or pin, poke holes in opposite ends of the egg.

2. Gently blow into one end, letting the liquids drip from the opposite end into a bowl.

3. Rinse in soapy water and let dry.

You need ...

- a pencil

- a couple of eggs (you only need one, but extras are great because your egg might crack)

- rubber cement

- a darning needle or a kabob spear, something sharp like that

- Q-tips

- paper towels

- spoons

- four bowls for dye: yellow, orange, red, black

- dye: Regular Easter egg dye won't work very well. You might want to get special egg dyes at a craft store or a gift shop. You might experiment with fabric or candle dyes. For the best dyes, try a Ukrainian gift shop. Here's one:

Ukrainian Gift Shop Incorporated
(763) 788-2545
2512 39th Ave Ne
Minneapolis, MN 55421
Cross Street: Between Apache Ln NE and County Hwy 27

http://www.mailordercentral.com/ukrainiangiftshop/

http://www.ukrainiangiftshop.com/

(Either link will open in a new window. Close to return here.)

Directions

1. Draw the design on the egg.

2. Using a Q-tip for larger areas, and the darning needle or kabob spear for more detailed work, apply rubber cement to the areas that you want to remain white: that you don't want any dye at all to stain.

3. Put the egg on a spoon, and carefully dip the egg into the bowl with th yellow dye. After five minutes, remove the egg and dab gently to dry.

4. Repeat step 2, except this time, cover the areas that you want to remain yellow. (You may need to go over your design with the pencil again.)

5. Repeat step 3, except this time, dip the egg into the bowl with the orange dye.

6. Repeat step 2, except this time, cover the areas that you want to remain orange. (You may need to go over your design with the pencil again.)

7. Repeat step 3, except this time, dip the egg into the bowl with the red dye.

8. Repeat step 2, except this time, cover the areas that you want to remain red. (You may need to go over your design with the pencil again.)

9. Repeat step 3, except this time, dip the egg into the bowl with the black dye.

10. Let the egg dry thoroughly. Then gently rub off the rubber cement (you might want to have an adult help with this!) to reveal your beautiful egg. To remove the cement, you can use a small hardened ball of rubber cement or a "rubber cement pickup." Those are available at office-supply and art stores and are very handy.