How long does it take to make an egg?
It’s hard to say exactly because it depends on the design. A simple egg usually takes about a half hour to an hour. The more intricate patterns can take anywhere from two to eight hours.

How long does the dye last?
Dye in the powdered form lasts in the package indefinitely. Once it is mixed, each color has its own properties and none of them have the same life. An average color will last you a good season. We recommend that people who make eggs year round should change their dye at least twice a year. A good rule of thumb is if the dye isn’t taking as well as when it was fresh, add another tablespoon of white vinegar. One way to check if there is enough vinegar in the dye is to smell the dye. You should be able to smell the vinegar.

Orange dye questions
Do not use vinegar with orange dye. Orange dye must be made with distilled water. Some people say it sometimes gels. The three reasons this can happen is that the water it is mixed with is not pure enough, not enough water is used or the water is too cold. Two suggestions are to add more water to your orange dye and make sure the water is at room temperature.

Why does the dye smear after varnishing?
Our dye is water soluble, so if you use a latex varnish or polyurethane, it will smear the dyes. Make sure your product is an oil based product. An easy way to check this is to look at the clean up instructions. If it says use soap and water, you do not want to use it.
We recommend the delrin kistky for beginners. The funnels are a little thicker, it takes longer to heat them up but they retain the heat longer so you don’t have to heat them as frequently. Also, because of their shape, the wax does not flow through as quickly and wax is less likely to drip on the egg. However, the traditional style kistka has been used for years and years successfully.

What is the advantage of the electric kistka?
The advantage is that there is no flame and the heat is constant so your line size does not vary. The electric kistka offers a constant heat and therefore a very consistent line size. It is also quicker to decorate with an electric kistka as you don’t have to heat and reheat it. It is very rare to get any wax drips with an electric kistka.

What is the disadvantage of the electric kistka?
It is bulkier to hold if you are used to the delrin or traditional kistka and you have to learn how to deal with a cord. If you choose not to use an interchangeable and have several electric kistky, you will need a power strip to plug everything in and the cost is higher.

Why do you need dark wax for the electric kistka?
When you use a candle flame to heat kistky the wax turns black from the soot of the flame. This soot helps make the wax more visible on the egg so you can easily see your lines and areas that you fill in. The electric kistka can’t darken the wax. Without the dark wax you will not be able to see your work. <

Should I use raw or blown eggs?
It is traditional to use raw eggs for decorating pysanka. However, many people are not comfortable using raw eggs and elect to blow them out. It is easier to use a raw egg when dying the egg. We decorate with both types of eggs.

How do you hold the blown egg under the dye?
The hole in the blown egg must be sealed first and the egg must be completely dry inside to hold the seal. We just use the kistka and beeswax from the kistka to seal the hole. We hold the egg and with the kistka go around the rim of the hole and the wax from the kistka should be enough to seal the hole. Once you have a good seal you can start decorating and dying the egg. You will need to find something that is heavy enough to push the egg into the dye. This can be any small container such as a crystal salt & pepper shaker, olive jar, spice jar, pill container, etc. You can add water or pebbles to make it heavy enough. Glass or plastic will work. You will need to spin the egg a time or two while it is in the dye so the sinker will not leave an area undyed.