Since you asked for it...

[wiseheart]

... here are my self-decorated Easter eggs. They can't be seen as well as the other ones, as they're hanging from a branch, but still...

Comments

[aviv-b.livejournal.com]

OMG! Wow! Do you use wax for the white part of the designs? Those are amazing!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Aww, thanks! *blushes*

No, I don't use wax. I treid, but I'm apparently too clumsy for that. I simply dye the eggshells a deep red first, then use a very thin brush and tempera (a kind of thick watercolour) for making the pattern. When the paint has dried, I spray several layers of hairspray all over the eggs. That way, should they accidentally get wet, the pattern won't be ruined.

[elmey.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous! How long does it take you to do one? They're absolutely beautiful.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :) As for the time it takes, it depends on how intricate the pattern is. The one with the swan only took ten minutes or so. The others... it can go up to two or three hours. Especially with the multicoloured ones, as you have to wait for the paint to dry completely before you can go on with the next colour.

But I did these while watching moderately interesting television, so it didn't seem t long. *g*

[jen-rock.livejournal.com]

Very pretty! Are those pussy willow branches? The designs look very intricate and I love the colors.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Are those pussy willow branches?

Yes, they are. We managed to find particularly thick and pretty ones this year.

The designs look very intricate and I love the colors.

Thanks. I prefer to work on a deep red background. Only the black ones have been done on orange yellow. As for the designs, those are original patterns from Hungarian folkore. I've got a book on just Easter egg patterns that explains in great detail what the individual elements like the hayfork or the stars or so on mean. They all have their own symbolic value, and that's why I work with these motifs.

[rcfinch.livejournal.com]

Oh, they´re beautiful!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :)

They're actually rather old, I've made them some twnty years ago, or almost. But the hairspray covering conserves them fairly well. Originally, you should lacquer them with some complicated and expensive stuff, but I found that hairspray works almost as well. *g*

[third-charm.livejournal.com]

They are wonderful, hon! So much better than mine!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Thanks, love! I'm sure yours are very pretty, too.

I wish we could sit together before those holidays and have our shared joy with making decorations by ourselves. Doing it alone is only half the fun.

[jsks.livejournal.com]

they are beautiful.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :) Decorating Easter eggs is one of my very few artistic talents. It's double joy when other people are deligted with them.

[artemis10002000]

Das sieht wunderschön aus!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Es freut mich, daß sie dir gefallen. Frohe Ostern! :)

[artemis10002000]

Dir wünsch ich auch nachträglich frohe Ostern!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Danke! Im Übrigen habe ich angefangen die Star Trek Zombie-Geschichte für Dich zu schreiben... als ein etwas makabres Ostergeschenk. Fünf Kapitel sind geplant, zur Zeit schreibe ich an Kapitel 3. Wenn alles nach Plan läuft, wird sie noch in diesem Monat fertig.

[artemis10002000]

*weglach und knuddel* Oh Mann, Du bist genial! Menschenfresser als Ostergeschenk, das passt perfekt bei meinem schwarzen Humor! Ich freu mich wirklich schon drauf, das ist nämlich ne vollkommene Überraschung, mit der Geschichte hatte ich gar nicht mehr gerechnet.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Ich ehrlich gesagt auch nicht. But Inspiration kommt wenn sie will, und diese Geschichte hat einfach entschieden daß sie geschrieben werden will. Und da ich gerade einen Zahn gebrochen habe, bin ich in einer entsprechend mörderischen Laune. ;)

[artemis10002000]

Hahaha, na dann mal fröhliches Morden *grins*

Lass den Ärger an den Redshirts aus, Zombies müssen auch gefüttert werden!

[lhun-dweller.livejournal.com]

They are BEAUTIFUL! How do you get that rich, true red? Stunning!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I just let them lie in the dye until they reach the colour I'd like. And it's a fairly common dye, too, I buy it in a set in the supermarket, so no big secret here. You have to add 2 or 3 tablespoons of vinegar, so that the eggshells take on the colour, but that's all.

[lhun-dweller.livejournal.com]

The Beloved just saw the photos and also admired them. "Neat!" he says.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

*is honoured*
I'd love to decorate some for you, but they wouldn't survive the long journey across the pond.

[the-wild-iris.livejournal.com]

Lovely! I like the matching colours. They look just like a set of shop-bought decorations.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I made these in 3 or 4 consecutive years, back in the early 1990s and, to be honest, I'm quite proud of them. They are only the best ones, of course. There were a few on green, blue and purple basis, but I wasn't as happy with them and gave them away. The deep red basis is my favourite.