The Enchanted Blog

Prep: Kitchen sink, rotary drill with bit, Blas-fix egg blower, egg drying rack (or an egg carton will work if your rack is in use), syringe, bleach, small cup for bleach solution, and – as always – paper towels.

Assemble your rotary drill with the drilling bit.  Note: If you do not have a rotary drill, you can use the little green hand-drill that came with your Blas-Fix egg blower.

Find the center at the bottom (large end) of your egg.  Most of the egg instructions I provided have a design that meets on the ends, and that should make it easy to find the center.

Take a deep breath.  It is not likely that the egg will crack from drilling, as long as you go slowly and don’t force the bit into the egg.

You are going to hold the egg cupped in your hand with the bottom end facing toward the heel of your palm.

Power up your drill, and – as it is spinning – hold the tip at a slight angle to the egg to start a cut into the egg (if you try to come at the egg with the tip straight on, the bit will slip on the smooth surface).

Hold the egg firmly but gently over the sink.  As the drill is rotating, it will began to break through the slick surface.  When it does, you can position the drill bit straight up and continue drilling through the shell.  Rest the drill hand on the wrist of the egg hand to steady it.  Stop drilling when the hole is big enough.  Don’t use the whole bit length, it will make the hole too big. The hole should be about 2-3mm, or roughly the size of a small peppercorn.

OK, you are finished drilling – you can let out your breath.

Next, take your Blas-Fix egg blower and poke the metal needle-tip inside the egg hole.  Stir it around a little to break up the yolk.  Then, holding the egg, hole-down over the sink, pump the bellows to force air into the egg.

The insides will start to flow out imediately.

When the egg is empty, you are going to flush it out with water.  At this point, you may want to remove your drill bit from the Dremel, and run it around the egg-hole edges with it a bit to break up the skin flaps that are present.  Sometimes there are
no skin flaps – it depends on the egg.  You can spin the bit in your fingers or gently  scrape it in and out to sand them off.

Now to get the inside nice and clean (this is why the egg won’t smell).  Turn your sink water on to a thin dribble stream, and fill the egg about halfway with water.  Holding your finger over the hole, shake the egg up.  Use the Blas-fix to flush out the water.  Do this a couple times until the water runs clear.  You can also pluck out any of the thin white skin that comes out with the flush.

Now, to sterilize the inside – set your egg into the egg carton, or rack, hole-side-up.  Put a mixture of a little bleach and water into a little cup (mostly water, enough to disinfect a countertop).  Fill your syringe with the bleach-water solution, and inject it into the egg hole.  Pick up the egg, shake it around, and flush with clean water again.  You’re done!  Wipe the egg gently with a paper towel, and set it hole-side-down in the carton to drain.  As it is drying, pick it up a few times and wick the bottom with a paper towel – this will help to draw out the moisture.

Let the egg dry at least overnight before going on to the final varnish.  If you varnish too soon, water can dribble out and make the varnish gooey at the hole.

Initial (light) Varnish Coat

Here is where my method differs from common methods.  I give the egg a coat of varnish before I empty it.  The reason for this, is, because I clean out the inside of the egg very thoroughly with water and bleach.  If I do that with an unprotected egg, all the dye will run and ruin the design.

After the egg is emptied, drained, and dried, I do give it a heavier final varnish coat, described here.  But for this step, just a light protective coating will do.

Prep:  You need your little can of polyurethene quick-drying varnish, a stirring stick (popsicle stick, pencil, something clean), cooking oil or olive oil, a roll of paper towels, and an egg drying rack.

You are going to do this with bare hands, so be sure they are clean and dry, and remove all your rings and hand jewelry.  You can use thin plastic gloves if you are sensitive to varnish, but be careful to pick ones that are powder-free.  And they will be very slippery.  For those of you who want to go barehanded,  I will tell you (at the end of this post) how to easily remove the varnish from your hands using common cooking oil.

Open your can of polyurethene and give it a stir with the stick to mix up any varnish that has settled on the bottom.  Do not shake it up before opening – this will create annoying bubbles that will invade your egg surface, and are a pain to get off.

Holding the egg in one hand, dip your finger (opposite hand) into the varnish.  You won’t need a lot of varnish, first knuckle’s worth should be fine.  Rub that varnish-finger all over the surface of the egg, turning it in the palm of your hand, until the whole surface is covered. Dip more varnish if needed, but you only need a light coating to protect the dye.  Just make sure there are no voids where water can get in and ruin the dye.

When the egg surface is fully covered, set the egg upright on to the nails of your egg drying rack.   Let it cure for several hours.  Overnight is best, but 5-6 hours at least.  Note:  if you have cats, you may want to cover the egg with a clean plastic bin or bucket so the cat does not knock the egg over, or fuzz it up.

Now, you have varnish all over your hands, right?  Ew.  But don’t worry -  You can remove this easily with regular household cooking oil!  First wipe the excess varnish off your hands with a paper towel.  Then pour a little bit of cooking oil into the palm of your hand, and rub it all over your hands like soap.  Run it underneath your fingernails.  Then wipe it off with another paper towel.  All gone!  You can then wash your hands with soap and water to get the oil off.

So. Your egg design is finished.  You have done the final dye bath, and you now have a full egg with a lot of clumpy wax on it.

There are a couple methods of wax removal, I prefer to use the chemical (naphtha
) removal, because it is quicker and it removes the wax completely with no residue.  If you would like to learn about removing the wax with candle or heat, e-mail me and I will be happy to describe it for you or send you some links.

IMPORTANT – Be sure and read and follow the safety precautions for Naphtha, it is highly flammable  so keep it and your kleenex wipes away from any open flames. If you’ve ever worked with turpentine or mineral spirits, it is similar.

Prep: You will need a lidded glass jar or container with an opening wide enough to lift an egg in and out.  Fill the jar about halfway full with Naphtha, enough so the egg will be immersed completely.   You will need a spoon for lifting the egg in and out of the jar.  You will also need kleenex to wipe the egg, and a soft (padded) surface on which to set the egg.  I use an old washcloth laid out near the jar of naphtha.

With a spoon, lower your finished/waxed egg gently into the jar of naphtha so the egg is immersed.  Replace the jar lid, so the naphtha does not evaporate.

Let the egg sit in the jar for about 10 minutes.  You will see the wax begin to flake off.

The good thing about naphtha is that it will not alter the dyed surface at all.  You can leave that egg in there overnight if you forget about it, and it will not harm the design.

After about 5-10 minutes, spoon the egg around a little bit so you can see if most of the wax has floated off.  If there is too much wax left on, the egg will be very slippery when you spoon it out.  The wax is like grease.

When it is ready, spoon the egg out carefully, with a kleenex in your other hand, ready to capture the egg and transfer it from the spoon to your hand. It WILL be slippery so hold the egg down near the padded surface in case it slips out of your grasp.

Holding the egg firmly, rub and turn the egg around in the kleenex until all the wax is wiped off.  A little bit of dye might come off on the kleenex, but this is residue and will not affect the design.

Inspect the egg under a light for stray pencil marks.  Normally, the rubbing off of the wax will remove all the pencil marks.  If pencil marks remain, use a white non-abrasive poly-eraser> to remove them.  I usually give the egg another dip in the naphtha for good measure after this.  You want it to be grease-free for the varnish.

Pretty, isn’t it?  I love removing the wax and revealing the bright colors.

Another note about working with naphtha.  Your jar of naphtha cleaner can be used over and over, even after is starts to turn dark green.  It does not lose its stripping properties, but the wax will start to build up in the bottom of the jar.  When the wax layer gets too annoying, I filter it through a regular paper coffee filter, using a kitchen funnel set on the rim of a jar. Then the filter full of gooey wax can be disposed of.  This naphtha-soaked wax is extremely flammable so take care to dispose of it properly, according to the directions on the naphtha container.

OK now that you’re all stressed out from getting your lines straight (kidding, of course – and don’t worry, it gets easier with practice) You’ll be glad to know that sketching in the design is much easier and creatively fun.

Draw in your pattern according to my instruction sheets, your egg pictures, your own drawings, or just go freestyle and draw what comes out of your head.

Since the design is usually repeated on two or four sides of the egg, you want to watch your shapes and sizes to be sure that your design is the same on all sides.  Turn the egg frequently to check.  Your design should be as symmetrical as possible.  Sketch lightly, so you can erase if you need to.

Don’t worry if the pencil lines still show a little bit.  When you remove the wax, the residual pencil lines will disappear.

So, are you ready for color?  Fire your kistka up and get ready for rainbow fingers!

For waxing, you will need your kistka, your beeswax strings, your wire kistka cleaner, and a folded square of kleenex for wicking drippy wax off of your kistka tip.

Hold the egg in one hand, and hold your kistka like you would hold a pen.  Some tutorials show the waxing being done with the egg resting on the table top.  I have never been able to do it that way.  I hold the egg up close to my face, and I use my pinky finger to steady my drawing hand on the egg.  The wax flows best when you pull  the pen away from you (just like when you write on paper).  Before you start on your egg, you might want to experiment with the angle of the kistka against a discarded egg until you find a comfortable angle.  Remember: pull – don’t push.    Turn the egg frequently so that you are always pulling the kistka, drawing up and away from your face.

If you get a blob of wax forming around the tip of your kistka, blot it with your square of kleenex before it drips down on to your egg.  Also, if your wax stops running (even though the reservoir is full), try wicking the tip with the kleenex, or poking the cleaning wire up through the tip into the reservoir bowl.  If you push up a clog of dust, pick it off with your fingers.

When it is time for a dye bath, you’ll want to have your Kleenex on hand, along with a jar of rinse water for the spoons.  Make a spot at your work area to set the egg (preferably under the light and resting on a square of paper towel) where it can dry after the dye bath.

Spoon the egg gently down into the jar of dye and let it soak for a few minutes.  Move it around with the spoon a few times, so you don’t get a void where the egg touches the glass.  You can spoon the egg out, and dab a spot dry with a paper towel to see how dark the egg color is.  With practice and as you get familiar with the process, you will know how long to leave an egg in the dye without checking it all the time.

Newly mixed dyes color the egg quickly.  Older dye can take longer.  For now, you have new dye and the colors should take right away.

When you are satisfied with the color, spoon your egg out and be ready to grasp it with a kleenex in your other hand.  Press the kleenex gently around the egg to blot off residual dye, and set it on a paper towel under your desk light to dry.  Don’t set the damp egg directly on your washcloth work surface – the drying egg could leave dye spots that transfer on to your next clean egg.  Hence, the paper towel.  When the egg has dried, go ahead to the next wax step.

Put the spoon into the rinse water so it is ready for the next color.

Note: If you are doing several eggs at once, keep in mind that your fingers are multicolored and will make fingerprints on a lighter egg.  When you are dyeing, you won’t want to go from a purple dye bath and start drawing on a new white egg.

I like to think of mapping the egg as the framework on which the design is placed.  The more balanced the framework is, the nicer the result will be.  You want to get your sections evenly spaced so the design doesn’t look skewed or off-balance.  This is why I use a small section of cloth  measuring tape.

However (now that I’ve gone all OCD on you),  we are going to eyeball the first two divisions.  Hold the egg with the small end pointing up to the ceiling, center it in your field of vision, and find the topmost peak of the egg.  Visualize the curve against whatever background is behind the egg (if you can hold it against a dark background, it is easier to see), and find the center.  Make a mark at the apex.  Turn the egg upside down and do the same on the bottom of the egg.

Referring to your instruction sheets , make your divisions joining the marks – attempting to divide the egg in half evenly.  Pencil lightly, because you are going to measure afterwords to be sure the lines are even (and you may need to erase).  Be aware of the outer edges of the egg, to assure the line goes straight down the middle.

Do the same for the second division.  The egg should be divided into four long sections.  Like sectioning an orange.

Now measure for symmetry.  Pick a number on your measuring tape and hold it against the top mark on your egg with your index finger.  Hold the top in place, and align the tape  down one of the division lines, smooth the tape down to the bottom mark, keeping it straight and flat against the egg.  A common egg will measure about 3 inches and change.

Remember the measurement  (usually something like 3-2/16″) so you can compare it to the next vertical line length.  Turn the egg a quarter turn and measure the next vertical line, again marking the center point.  Confirm that the length of your vertical line is about the same (3-2/16″).  Repeat until all vertical lines are relatively even.  It is OK if the vertical lines are a couple 16ths off.  It means that the apex or the bottom points are not exactly centered, but it won’t be noticeable.  If they are as much as 1/4″ off, though, this will be pretty obvious.  You may want to erase and re-draw the lines.

The old carpenters adage “measure twice, cut once” can be applied here.  Except don’t cut your egg.

When you have all your vertical lines in order, mark the halfway point at the middle of the egg, on all four division lines.  Turn the egg on it’s side and connect those center marks to make a line around the center of the egg like a belt.

This was the hardest part – getting your first mapping lines straight and even.  The rest of the design should fall into place after this.

Eggs from the grocery store are perfectly fine to use, but they have likely been sprayed with a disinfecting cleaner.  Fresh eggs are optimum, but they usually have dirt or smudges on them from handling.  Any surface residue  will interfere with the dye, so we want to remove this before working on the egg.  We are going to clean the surface gently with vinegar and water.

I do this at the kitchen sink.  Use a plastic mixing bowl or container that is big enough to hold about a gallon of water.  Fill it about halfway with room temperature tap water.  Add about 1/2 cup of white vinegar (one cup vinegar to 1 gallon water).   Prepare a soft drying pad area (paper or cloth towels) on the kitchen counter next to the sink.

Place the eggs into the vinegar water gently so they don’t roll against each other. You only need to leave them in for a short time.  Do not leave them to soak, start bringing them out right away.

Lift an egg out of the vinegar-water and gently rub it with a clean paper towel that has been immersed in the vinegar water.  The paper towel should be soaking wet.  Do not scrub. Just wipe it gently, turning it in your hand to get all sides, and dipping the paper towel frequently into the bowl of vinegar water.

When you have wiped off the entire egg, rinse it under cool running water to get all the vinegar off.  If any vinegar gathers under the egg when it is drying, it will etch the surface and make a weird patch when you dye it.  So be sure and rinse the egg well.  Pat the egg dry gently with a dry paper towel and set it on the drying pad to dry completely, while you clean the next egg.  Turn the eggs over periodically and move them to dry spots on the paper towels so they doesn’t sit in dampness.  Let the eggs come to room temperature before you start working on them.

You always want to work on room temperature eggs.  If they are cold from the refrigerator, condensation will form on the outside of the shell, they will be hard to draw on, and the wax won’t stick to the surface.  You can leave the cleaned eggs out in their egg carton for several days before they even start to go bad.  You can work on them for a week or more in this condition.  Keeping them in a cool room will help them last longer, but don’t put them back in the refrigerator.

Note: If you are not able to finish your eggs within a week or two, and they start to smell, don’t toss them yet.  I work on stinky eggs all the time.  I just have to prepare myself when I empty them into the sink, and rinse it down the drain quickly.  Of course, if they start to seep fluid – it has been too long and you should discard them (in the outside trash bin).  You don’t want to get anywhere near them when those baby’s blow!

I find the easiest way to mix dyes is to put the correct amount of distilled water into the jar and microwave it for about 3 minutes until it just comes to a boil.  Remove the jar (careful, use mitts – it’s hot!) and let the boiling water sit for a minute to settle down before adding the dye powder. If you add the dye powder while it is still bubbling, it will react like vinegar & baking soda, foaming up and over the sides of the jar, dyeing your table-top and splattering your clothes. 

If you don’t want to microwave it, an alternate method is to pour the correct amount (1-1/4 cup usually) of  regular tap water into the jar, mark the water line on the outside of the jar with a Sharpie pen, and then pour the tap water out.  Mark the rest of your jars using the first jar as a guide.  Place the powered dye into the jar, and then you can boil your distilled water in a tea kettle and just pour the water up to the marked line (pour slowly to reduce splatter).  This method assures that the water will be hottest when it hits the dye, and will dissolve the dye completely.

You can add your vinegar while the dye is hot, or after it cools.  It doesn’t matter.

Let your dyes cool with the lids off, then when they are no longer hot – you can put the lids on and wait until they are ready for use.  If you put the lids on while the dye is hot, the steam will condense on the metal lid and cause rust.  If you store the dyes with the lids off, the dyes will evaporate quickly.

Important: Identify the dye color on your jars!  When they are all mixed up, they are very dark and a lot of them look the same.  Black and Brown.  Turquoise and Bright Blue.  Brick and Pumpkin.  They all look alike after mixing.  I write the color on the lid with a Sharpie, or (if I can’t find my Sharpie) I cut the name off the dye envelope and tape it to the lid of the jar.

You don’t want to use the dyes right away – let them cool down completely with the lids off.  Putting a waxed egg into a jar of hot or warm dye will melt the wax, and ruin your design.

And while you are waiting for your dyes to cool, it’s a good time to get your work area set up!

Having a dedicated place for working on your eggs is not essential, but it does make it easier if you are a double-tasker like me .  I am usually doing laundry, or housework, or making dinner at the same time I am ‘doing eggs’.   This works out well for me, as I like to be able to stop for a bit, stretch my fingers, let my eyes focus on something further than 10 inches away, and allow time for the eggs dry in between dye baths.

You will need a good light – an adjustable desk lamp is the best, one where you can bend the neck and beam it directly at your egg.  Overhead lights throw shadows and make it difficult to see the wax lines.

When I work, I wear those magnifying reading glasses that are available for under $10.00 at any pharmacy.  This helps with close-up work and tiny lines.

One of those fold-up card tables is great for an ‘egging spree’.  You can leave it set up with all your stuff for a couple weeks, and then take it down and store it when your family starts to get tired of walking around it.    If you don’t want a multicolored table, spread newspapers all over the work area.  You may not knock over a whole jar of dye, but there will be drips of dye and of wax.

Your immediate work area should have a soft pad to set the egg on.  You will be working with full eggs, and if they slip out of your grasp you don’t want them to land on a hard surface.  I lay an old washcloth or small folded towel down under my hands,  where I am going to be working on the egg.

Also, it’s good to keep an egg carton handy to store your eggs-in-process.  I prefer the paper pulp cartons.  The styrofoam cartons are squeaky and tend to grab the wax.

Mix your dyes in advance, following the directions on the packets exactly.  Every color except orange gets vinegar.  Do not put vinegar in your orange dye.  The orange is used as a wash, and the vinegar causes the dye to set.  We don’t want the orange dye to set.  Did I mention that the orange dye does not get vinegar?

So you got your table, a comfortable chair, your dyes, your pencils, erasers, and measuring devices, some design instructions or pictures, and some eggs to work on.  You’re good to go.  Put on some music, or an audiobook and have at it!

Choosing a good egg is essential to the outcome of your egg art.  I have written an article about how to cherry pick grocery store eggs, if you do not have access to fresh eggs.  What the article does not cover, is what to do after you get them home.

After you get your eggs home, you are going to pick out the cream of the crop.

I use an egg-candling light that I happened to find at a garage sale for a few bucks.  If you can find one, grab it.  They are awesome.  If not – no worries -  I have other methods.

If you have a small LED flashlight, you can use that, and if all else fails, you can do what I did for several years when I was first starting out, and use the refrigerator light!

Place the light source gently against the bottom (the rounded end, not the pointy end) of the egg.   If you are using the refrigerator light, hold the egg slightly under, and in front of the bulb.  Position the egg against the light until you get a good glow.  You want to illuminate the whole inside of the egg.

Move the egg around to see all sides.  Now you will see what you did not see in the grocery store.  Hairline cracks, spider fractures, really thin areas, and bright spots that are almost a hole in the shell.

A few thin areas or semi-bright spots are OK.  Thin areas shine brighter when lit.  If the thin area is larger than the size of a dime – discard it.  If the bright spots are really bright and could be a pinhole – discard it.  Discard all cracks and fractures.

Choose the best three of the bunch, and put them in a separate container so nobody fries them up for breakfast.  I put a note on mine: “The Mama’s Eggs – Do Not Eat”

Nan.