Celebrate spring with the original Easter-egg craft

Forget lavender floppy-eared bunnies hopping through quaint pastoral scenes. The original Easter eggs were talismans dyed in baths made from berries and bark and portrayed symbols of eternal life, bountiful harvests, gods and goddesses.

In Ukraine, the decorated keepsakes are called pysanky (PI'-sahn-kee). The word is derived from pysaty (pe-SA'-tay) meaning "to write," as in to "write" symbols on the egg. Intricate, multicolored, geometric designs are created as wax, dye and fire play a game of hide-and-seek on an eggshell.

Making Pysanky was originally part of springtime festivities celebrating the return of warm weather, new life and fertility. The icons were thought to bring good luck and were often traded.

The Christianizing of Slavic countries gave pysanky symbols new meanings. Pictographs with pagan significance such as triangles, harvested grapes and symbols representing the sun god, were adapted to tell the story of the church, the Holy Trinity and Christ's resurrection from the dead.

Here are some tips for creating your own old-world Easter eggs culled from the Ukrainian Museum in New York:

1. Gather supplies. Soak a raw or empty egg in highly diluted vinegar to clean the eggshell's surface. Create dye baths. The best colors to use are yellow, orange, red and black — other colors may intermix. Get some beeswax, a candle and a kistka (the stylus for the wax) — available in online craft shops. You'll also need a pencil, paper towels, a design idea and some newspaper to protect your work surface.

2. Plan your design. Lightly trace a design on the dry egg with a pencil. Do not use an eraser to correct mistakes; the rubber will affect the egg's surface.

3. Seal it in wax. Heat the kistka over the candle's flame then scoop wax into the open end of the kistka and reheat to aid the melting process. Wax will flow through the kistka's point. Apply wax to the bare egg to seal in the parts of the stenciled design that are to remain white. If a blob of melted wax falls onto the egg, work it into the design — it cannot be corrected.

4. Dye slowly. Place the egg in the dye bath containing the lightest color, yellow. Let the egg sit for 5-10 minutes, or until the desired brightness is achieved. Remove the egg from the dye and gently dab it dry with a paper towel. Next, apply wax to seal portions of the egg that are to remain yellow. Continue the process using the next darkest color baths — orange and red. Use black last to dye the areas that remain bare.

5. The big reveal. Hold your egg sideways against a candle's flame to melt away all the wax and reveal the colored pattern sealed beneath. Use a paper towel to wipe away the melting wax. Do not place your egg near the tip of the flame or it may scorch the shell. A simple varnish can be used to give the egg a glossy finish.

Tip: Use an ear syringe (available at drugstores) to expel an egg's white and yolk. Some crafters prefer to empty the egg after a coat of varnish has been applied.

Seattle Times staff contributed to this feature