For the past six years or so I have been celebrating Easter the Russian way – with egg painting, delightful Russian feasts and plenty of vodka. Byron’s step-mother is Russian, so it’s been great to become so familiar with some wonderful Russian customs and traditions and every year we look forward to this big gathering. One absolute delight of a tradition is the custom of painting eggs.

Now the egg, in religious tradition, is used to symbolise the rolling of the stone away from Jesus’ tomb when he was resurrected on Easter Sunday. It is why we have come to use eggs so much as a symbol of Easter – whether they are in chocolate form, delivered from the Easter Bunny, or hard boiled and painted. Here are some great egg crafts you can do as part of your own Easter celebrations!

Photo by Mazalatel

Dyed and Shrink Wrapped Russian Eggs

If you want to follow the Russian tradition of Easter Crafts, you can dye hard boiled eggs for a classic and savoury twist on your Easter Eggs. You can buy egg dyes from Delicatessans or from the online world, and all you need to do is combine 10 drops of the dye or food colouring with 1/2 cup boiling water and 1 teaspoon of vinegar into a bowl. Make several different bowls filled with different colours for a better effect. Dip hard boiled eggs into the dye with a spoon, making sure not to splash it anywhere and use the spoon to make sure the colouring is even. You can use the spoon to create droplets and patterns from other colours as well.

For an extra effect you can also use intricate shrink wraps on the eggs but placing the wrap securely around the egg and putting it back into the boiling water for a minute. The heat will cause the shrink wrap to shrink and bind itself to the egg, making a super pretty pattern! Lay your eggs out to dry and then rub with a bit of oil to create a shiny look when completely dried.

For more ideas on similar egg crafts, as well as information on “blowing out the egg” (we normally just crack the shells and eat the eggs later) you can check out Martha Stewarts website.

 Photo from Martha Stewart