Since my recent autumn and indigo color palette article received such a great response, I thought I’d keep up the color-themed posts with a more wintery entry this time.
Currently on my mind is the combination of vibrant greens (from kelly to forest) paired with softer golds – think mercury glass, champagne, heirloom jewelry, candlelight.
While this combination could go modern, I particularly love it as a complement to rustic decor. It looks fabulous with natural materials like birch bark, adding just enough sheen to make it all feel chic and festive.
For a woodsy vibe, you can bring in the classic evergreen boughs and pinecones or whatever’s growing outside your door. Twigs, olive branches, rosemary sprigs, eucalyptus leaves, berries, potted cacti, or mossy driftwood could all work well.
Despite what you may have heard, Easter eggs were not invented in a New Jersey pharmacy.
In fact, thousands of years before there was Paas, there were pysanky – eggs decorated in the ancient Ukrainian tradition.
“Ukrainians have been decorating eggs, creating these miniature jewels, for countless generations. There is a ritualistic element involved, magical thinking, a calling out to the gods and goddesses for health, fertility, love, and wealth. There is a yearning for eternity, for the sun and stars, for whatever gods that may be.”
–Luba Petrusha of pysanky.info
For agrarian societies dependent on seasonal crops, the end of winter brings the beginning of the growing season and the food to survive. So the return of spring represents life in a very real way.
With this in mind, it makes sense that many cultures of the distant past worshiped the sun, including ancient Slavic peoples. To them, eggs were associated with springtime, the sun god, and the life-giving cycle of the seasons.
Writing Pysanky
Pysanky are created using a wax resist process (similar to batik). Traditionally, you would have prepared dyes yourself, using natural materials like onion skins or red cabbage for color.
Then you would make the first part of your design on the egg’s shell by using a specialized stylus (a kistka) to apply melted beeswax, like putting a pen to paper. In fact, pysanka comes from the Ukrainian word for “write.”
After laying out the first part of your pattern in wax, you’d submerge the egg into your lightest shade of dye (let’s say yellow). While most of the egg then comes out yellow, your wax lines preserve the original color below (presumably, eggshell white).
Next, you’d put wax over the parts of your design that should remain yellow and sink the egg into the next darker shade of dye (maybe green).
You repeat the process of applying the wax and then submerging the egg in the next dye color, from lightest to darkest, for as many colors as you want in your design (or have dyes for).
Finally, you soften the wax and wipe it from the egg to reveal the full design.
Since it may be a bit hard to visualize, I highly recommend the 1975 short film Pysanka: The Ukrainian Easter Egg. You can see the process demonstrated from start to finish, while the narrator explains the traditions and beliefs that go along with the ancient art form.
Easter
So where does Easter come in?
Pysanky existed centuries before the life of Christ. However, as the Christian Church spread, it had a tendency to adopt/appropriate parts of the local culture wherever it went. Pagan symbols were reinterpreted with Christian meanings. Even the word “Easter” itself likely comes from the name of Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of fertility and springtime.
Decorating eggs became less about the return of the sun god and more about the resurrection of Christ. Over time, the tradition lost many of its ritual components, becoming increasingly associated with the Christian faith and the Easter holiday specifically.
Simplified versions of the practice became Easter traditions in other parts of the world, as well.
Artificial Colors
By the 1800s, chemists had figured out how to make synthetic dyes. Among the products manufactured in the early days of this revolutionary technology were Easter egg coloring kits. So instead of using your own vegetable scraps or whatever, you could go purchase dyes at your local drugstore.
One of these drugstores was owned by William M. Townley in Newark, New Jersey. He stocked Easter egg dye kits imported from Germany (the top supplier of all things synthetic dye until WWI), but he wasn’t really happy with them.
So he came up with his own. While he didn’t invent Easter eggs, he did start selling dye powders in convenient pre-wrapped packets.
The product was such a hit that the Townley family transitioned from pharmacists to factory owners. The Paas Dye Company was created in 1881 and would soon be operating year round just to meet the Easter season demand.
Hidden Easter Eggs
While springtime egg decorating became more common around the world, the tradition was officially prohibited in its country of origin when the Soviets took over in the 1930s. Perhaps the ban was because pysanky were associated with Christianity or perhaps because the art form is distinctly Ukrainian.
Still, the tradition survived, like countless other folk customs that empires have attempted to suppress. Some people made pysanky in secret. Others left Ukraine. These expats may have felt an even heavier responsibility to pass their culture on to the next generation.
When Ukraine regained its independence in 1991, the art form experienced a resurgence. Today, you can see pysanky in museums or take a class on making your own. As fragile as pysanky may look, they are surprisingly durable.
– More Pysanka Info –
“Pysanka” is the singular form of the word, “pysanky” is plural. I’ve attempted to use Ukrainian terms correctly, but I do not speak the language, so don’t take my word for it!
I’ll mention again the film Pysanka: The Ukrainian Easter Egg. It’s only about 15 minutes long. If you’re at all interested in pysanky, watch it! And don’t let the slightly 1970s trippy intro dissuade you.
Pysanky.info – history, patterns, photos, all things pysanky
“Eggs Hatch Rebirth of Ukraine Culture” – L.A. Times article published shortly after Ukrainian independence (March 1992) about Ukrainian-Americans being “keepers of the flame” of traditions like pysanka.
Live performances by Miss Olivia, Greg Morton, Salvador Duran, and Mark Insley.
All proceeds go to World Central Kitchen and the refugee resettlement efforts of Lutheran Social Services Southwest.
Donations online, at the door, and (if you’re unable to attend) checks payable to Hotel Congress LLC (memo: “May The Fourth Be with Ukraine”) and mailed to 311 E Congress St., Tucson, AZ 85701.
St. Mary’s Protectress Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Phoenix is raising funds for Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine.
Ongoing
So far they’ve donated $32,000 to support emergency relief efforts, like shipping medical supplies!
You can give via Paypal or credit card, check payable to St. Mary’s Protectress (memo: “Help Ukraine”), in person at the Ukrainian Cultural Center (730 W. Elm St, Phoenix, AZ 85013), or wire transfer (routing #021000021, account #767167682).
I was recently introduced to a beautiful children’s book, called Peace is an Offering, about taking care of one another and appreciating the world around us.
The sweet, simple poem is by Annette LeBox with illustrations by Stephanie Graegin adding a delightful interpretation of her words.
While you can get it at your local library or bookstore, I also recommend having Emily on YouTube read it to you. Her quiet, soothing voice, combined with the lulling rhymes and satisfying sound of book pages turning, will make you feel at ease (or give you ASMR).
Because, like many of the best children’s books, it’s not just for kids.
We could all use a little more peace in our lives right now. We could all find ways to offer a little more goodwill to the people around us.
Wishing you days filled with peace and kindness now and in the new year.
[My sister-in-law Dinah always gives such fun gifts and beautiful handmade cards. I’m excited that today she’s sharing some of her ideas here with you! –S]
I enjoy giving presents under normal circumstances, but during 2020, I felt it was more important than ever to send fun surprises in the mail for my friends and family – for birthdays or just because – since I wasn’t able to see them as often (or at all).
Craft Beverages + Food
I try to seek out local companies here in Arizona or, at least, small businesses.
Derek is a teacher and a father of 5, who lives in Tempe, Arizona. He loves coffee and decided to start roasting beans himself as a side business. We shipped out bags of his coffee to several family members this year (and also to ourselves)!
For my chocolate-loving friends, I discovered this company located in Scottsdale. They specialize in small batch, single-origin craft chocolate that’s beautifully packaged. I love how they come up with new flavors regularly.
The original Cartel Coffee Lab location is in Tempe. I was pleased to see that they offered this “Stay at Home” blend, which was perfect for my friend Robin, who is coffee-obsessed and works from home. Plus, 10% of the profits go to a Navajo Nation COVID-19 relief fund.
This company is located in Queen Creek, Arizona. I purchased some bottles of flavored olive oil for my brother’s and sister’s birthdays this year. It was a useful gift for them, as they like to cook, and it lasted awhile. I enjoyed hearing which foods they paired the olive oils with!
In addition to standard olive oil offerings, Queen Creek Olive Mill has unique flavors like vanilla bean and dark chocolate. There’s even a set called “Quarantine Essentials!”
My husband Daniel did part of his Navy training near Saratoga Springs, New York, where this company is located. They offer a holiday pack of different kinds of peanut butter. I can’t wait to try more of their flavors in 2021!
For several birthdays this year, I put together boxes full of goodies of the same hue.
I sent my brother a “box o’ sunshine” with yellow items, since his birthday falls right after Christmas, the dreariest time in Montana’s winter. My sister-in-law’s birthday is right before St. Paddy’s Day, so she received all green gifts. And a few people received some “Out of the Blue” birthday boxes.
Hopefully, I can try it out with some other colors this coming year!
We received a lovely gift in our mailbox of pre-measured mix to make Dalgona coffee drinks from a friend. We loved the idea so much that we copied it, making our own Dalgona coffee mixes send to other friends and family.
Once you have the dry mix, all you have to do is add boiling water and beat in the mixer until it turns into coffee-flavored whipped cream! Drink it with ice and your milk of preference.
This was a great way to make a “fancy” coffeehouse-style drink, while staying safe at home.
I’m thinking this would be a good year for some reverse trick-or-treating.
While I’m not really into Halloween, I do like it as an excuse to indulge in some of the junk candy that I don’t buy the rest of the year, and I’ll pick up a bag or two “just in case.”
I even did this when we lived in a third-floor apartment. Since I didn’t expect anyone to come up, I made a few little candy bags and brought them to my neighbors instead. Reverse trick-or-treat!
In the 2020 version, I’d mask up and leave the treats outside neighbors’ doors.
Materials + Tips
Here’s what I used, plus alternatives in case you want to make the project simpler or fancier or to use materials you happen to have already…
Treat bags – These are great to buy when they’re on sale after the holiday – unlike candy, they’ll keep! I got a pack of clear ones on clearance at Target several years ago, and I’ve used them for a variety of things since then, including sleeves for pressed flowers. Alt: regular sandwich baggies, small paper bags, gift bags
Crinkle paper – Upcycled from some other packaging (maybe it came from these costume mask kits-?) Alt: tissue paper, shredded paper, confetti, or skip it (It’s mostly there for color.)
Cord (for the bow) – I used what I had on hand from an envelope journal workshop. Alt: ribbon, raffia, yarn, bakers’ twine, nothing (Again, it’s just a festive touch.)
Shipping tag – I wrote our names on the back with a reminder who we were (i.e. “From: Phillip and Stephanie from upstairs”), since I suspected some of our neighbors might recognize our faces but not our names. To be honest, I wasn’t sure about some of theirs, which is why there was no “To:” – just a “Happy Halloween” on the front. Alt: label, card, or make your own gift tags
Ultra fine tipped marker
Washi tape to keep the bag closed
Candy – make sure it’s individually wrapped!
Kids need a project?
If you are looking for something to occupy your kids or teens (hello, parents working from home!), here are a few ways they can help with these…
Color, stamp, and/or add stickers to bags.
Make Halloween cards or tags.
Cut construction paper into pieces to use instead of crinkle paper. (Or use a hole puncher / leaf-shaped paper punch to make confetti.)
Fill the bags – if they can be trusted around all that candy! (I barely can.)
On the tag or card, include the age(s) of any contributing young artists (i.e. “From Velma, Fred, and Daphne, age 3”), because that somehow makes it even cuter.
If you make candy bags, I’d love to see them! Tag @travelcraftjournal or #TCJreco on Instagram. Have fun!
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