Win This ACEO for April!

Here’s the prize for my monthly contest in celebration of five years of business. It’s an Ukrainian Easter egg ACEO/ATC. Another schnipster project, this one took a few hours to design. Schnipstering can be a little hit or miss at times :-)

All you have to do is leave a comment and I will pick a winner on April 30 at 6pm MTN.

When I was thinking of this month’s prize, I wanted to share a special Easter tradition that others might not know much about. The eggs are more than just a decoration; it is a symbol of renewal and resurrection of course.

I learned how to make Ukrainian Easter eggs as a young person in Edmonton, Alberta. Edmonton has a huge Ukrainian population which is very proud of its culture. My first egg was made in Grade 4, but it wasn’t until Grade 7 that I really made one that was really good. Designing each egg takes a lot of thought. A tool called a kiska is used to scoop wax and draw with it. Anything covered in wax will have the colour preserved as the egg is dipped in different dyes. So the first layer would be white, and then yellow and so forth.

Good, even wax coverage is necessary for a good strong line. The final dye coat is usually black or red. At the end of the process, the wax is melted off with heat from a candle and wiped with a tissue. The real name for the eggs is psyanky and you can learn more about them at this website .

Vegreville, Alberta, by the way, is home to the world’s largest psyanka! Vegreville is also home to the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, which is a wonderful historic park to visit, especially if you like Eastern European churches.

Whew, this post is getting long! Other Eastern European cultures also decorate eggs, and they have different styles and names. Wikipedia has a good round-up of Easter egg traditions if you want to learn more.