Modern Easter Eggs

When I was little, my great uncle used to make Ukranian Easter eggs, also known as pysanky.  It was an art that he had learned from his grandmother, who came to this country from the part of Austria-Hungary that is now the Ukraine.  I remember being amazed at the beautiful, intricate eggs he created and at the vibrancy of the colors and patterns. 

Pysanky is a process similar to batik.  The egg is progressively covered in wax to mask certain areas and the  unmasked parts are dyed.  Each progressive dying creates a darker color on the unmasked areas.  Once the dying is complete, the layers of wax are melted away, revealing all of the colors protected underneath. 

My uncle gave many of those eggs to my grandparents as gifts over the years.  My grandmother, while a wonderful woman in so many ways, was entirely unsentimental and didn't save any of the eggs.  But I remember seeing them looking much like these (and I even remember her having a similar tablecloth!). 

So when I stumbled on the Pysanky Panky shop on Etsy, I was instantly transported back to my grandparents' living room at Easter.  Nicole makes lots of traditional and more modern eggs, but I particularly love these graphic, individually colored eggs.  I think they would look fantastic on a white, Easter "tree."  It would also be great to get a whole set in a single color (the lime green really speaks to me). 

For anyone creative, Pysanky Panky also sells a kit that you can use to try your own hand at egg decorating.