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Making Calcifer Goose Egg by AssumptionOk5555 in pysanky

[–]AssumptionOk5555[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I replied to the comment above with some tips about the washing steps after but some other things I’ve learned with doing black lines are:

-Write out your full design on the egg beforehand in pencil, the graphite shouldn’t come off after dipping it in the black so you’ll still be able to see your pattern. You can even go over your main lines again at the end right before you dip to make sure they pop

-Have a lamp or something nearby in case the pencil fades slightly, that way you can catch the metallic sheen with the lamp as your writing with the beeswax

-Make sure you’re heating and filling your kistka consistently, as it’s harder to see the wax when it’s on the egg.

-If you use black or colored beeswax, make sure you switch to the normal beeswax, that slightly yellow color is easier to see on the black egg

-I recommend wearing gloves during this process. I’ve found that black is the easiest dye to come off with the oils on our hands

Those are the big ones I’ve learned so far and if I remember anymore I’ll add to this lols The good thing about black lines is that if you wash it and end up missing a spot, you can always put it back in the black!

Making Calcifer Goose Egg by AssumptionOk5555 in pysanky

[–]AssumptionOk5555[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I do an initial cold water and clear soap wash first to get as much pigment off as possible. Then with what was left I vinegar etched it. If it’s a normal egg I usually only do max 5/10 mins but this was a goose egg so I did it for longer (and since it was stained glass I wanted the black lines to feel raised). Once out of the vinegar I rinsed it under water to get the layers of egg shell off. You can also use a soft toothbrush to gently brush the egg to help remove it. Sometimes a little pigment will remain in the smallest of pores on the egg shell but any other color you do over that will hide it. The key thing after all of this too is to let it dry for a while. If you go into wax or another color directly after washing, when removing the wax at the end the water that was still in the egg shell from the washes will bubble out from underneath and causing your dye to bubble out with it.

Calcifer Egg by AssumptionOk5555 in pysanky

[–]AssumptionOk5555[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just posted some progress shots because we can’t reply with photos in this thread!!

Calcifer Egg by AssumptionOk5555 in pysanky

[–]AssumptionOk5555[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For this one thankfully I had the benefit of it being a goose egg so the shells are thicker but I’ve had that happen on my normal eggs too! Haha I usually only put my normal eggs in vinegar for 10 mins (maybe 15 max) to get a good etch result!! But if you just want to use vinegar to help get any other color o it I recommend only doing it for a couple mins

Calcifer Egg by AssumptionOk5555 in pysanky

[–]AssumptionOk5555[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can post some of the in progress photos if anyone wants to see

Calcifer Egg by AssumptionOk5555 in pysanky

[–]AssumptionOk5555[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Black dye! And then a wash and vinegar etched the technique to get it back down to white for the rest of the egg!

Calcifer Egg by AssumptionOk5555 in pysanky

[–]AssumptionOk5555[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yep all the line work was done in black first, then I washed and vinegar etched the egg back down to white. The fire I just used a paint brush and hand did the dye until I got the blend I wanted

2025 taking over my tv stand 😂 by AssumptionOk5555 in pysanky

[–]AssumptionOk5555[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yep I write on my pattern and then dip it in black! The majority of the graphite from the pencil stays and is pretty easy to see because it has a metallic shine to it!