Easter egg decorating season is upon us! The bees are buzzing, birds are chirping, and the sun is… well, peeking out behind those April showers. It’s about that time to start stocking up on cartons of eggs, decorating kits and food coloring. BUT, before you go crazy at Target, pump the breaks and gather some inspiration with these Easter egg decoration ideas.
Easter Egg Decorations ft. Sophie Landry
Let it be known, that while I may be an event planner and subsequent fan of all things hosting and entertaining, I am not a very skilled crafter. Which is why I’ve tapped on design expert Sophie Landry, Founder of Egg in Hand, to share Easter egg decorating essentials, design ideas, and DIY tips to help you create a very special Easter celebration.
I first met Sophie Landry while pursuing an internship with Colin Cowie, a luxury wedding and event planner, where Sophie was an Event Designer. Sophie and I have crossed paths many times since, and keep up with the latest and greatest in one another’s lives on Instagram.
A few months ago, Sophie shared a post of her bespoke Pysanky eggs. I couldn’t believe the level of detail involved, and was immediately intrigued! I’m now an avid follower and fan of her account, Egg in Hand. I 10/10 recommend letting these gorgeous beauties grace your timeline.
What is Pysanky, you ask? It’s a Ukrainian Easter egg that celebrates folklore traditional to the Ukrainian culture. What’s even more interesting about Pysanky, is that the designs aren’t actually painted on, but instead inscribed upon the eggs. Mind = blown.
Sophie explained, “Pysanky writing (called “writing” because you literally write on the egg with wax using a tool called a kitska – think a small metal reservoir on the end of a stick that you fill with melted beeswax) is deeply traditional in Eastern Europe and dates back thousands of years.”
I was seriously amazed how someone could create a masterpiece like this on such a delicate object! I don’t know about you, but I grew up dipping eggs into food coloring dye. Those eggs rarely made it out of our family mugs without a crack on them. Sophie, on the other hand, had a different experience that blossomed far past childhood.
“When I was about 8 years old, my family started setting up an egg dyeing table the week before Easter each year. We would invite family and friends over and teach them how to dye eggs in the traditional Ukrainian wax-resist method, called Pysanky. Starting with the lockdown last spring, it became more of a year-round pastime for me.”
Unique Ways to Decorate with Eggs
When I asked Sophie about what she’s doing differently to decorate with eggs, she shared that, “Decorating with eggs can be a lot more versatile than you think. They make excellent place cards, tablescapes, or brightly colored treats; they can be neutral, pastel, bright or even patterned.”
As a planner, I love the idea of utilizing Easter eggs as place cards to elevate a formal dinner table. It feels super chic, playful, edgy and just fun. I’m also inspired by non-traditional approaches to Easter tablescape designs. If eggs can be incorporated into a tablescape in an architectural way, that decor becomes a major focal point.
Naturally, I wanted to know where Sophie finds inspiration for her egg designs.
“My phone is filled with photos of tiled floors and screenshots of color combinations I want to try. Basically anything can be inspiration. If you want to go more traditional in style, there are a lot of resources online that share traditional patterns and symbolism. Instagram is a huge source of inspiration as well – I follow many screen printers and illustrators whose styles are bold and graphic, which lend themselves well to egg dyeing.”
DIY Easter Eggs Tips
Ok, so all of this is wonderful, but actually… how do you make Pysanky eggs?
“The basics are simple – dip your egg in a color, cover what you want to STAY that color with wax, dip it in a new color, wax it again… on and on until your egg is a blackened mess covered in globs of wax. Then, when you melt the wax off, the magic happens. All your bright colors reveal themselves exactly as you first dyed them. Depending how detailed you make things, each egg takes about 3-5 hours to make.”
“For me, especially during the pandemic, each egg is a respite from what is going on around me. The process can be quite meditative, though at times quite frustrating. You are, of course, working with something very fragile, and accidents can happen! However, it’s all worth it when you wipe the wax away and reveal the vibrant colors and patterns beneath,” Sophie shared.
If you want to DIY eggs at home that are more specialty than the average dip-your-egg-in-dyed-water approach, but aren’t yet ready to try Pysanky eggs yourself, Sophie recommends following these steps from FirstPalette to create tie-dye Easter eggs, or these instructions to draw on your eggs and create fun patterns!
Can’t get enough of Sophie Landry’s Pysanky eggs?! View more amazing designs by Egg in Hand.
Have a question about something specific? Ask it on my Q&A page!
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