When should you blow out the egg?

Answer 1

Eggs can be blown out using either a one hole or two hole method. The two hole method is easier, requiring no special equipment, but has the disadvantage of leaving two holes in your finished egg. =Two Hole Method= Step1 Take a needle and make a small hole in each end of the raw egg; the rounded end and the pointed end. The pointed end may be a little harder to pierce than the rounded end, therefore apply more pressure, being careful not to smash the egg.

Step2 Poke the needle or a slim nail into the cavity of the egg through one of the holes you have just made and pierce the yolk. This makes the egg easier to blow out of the shell.

Step3 Place a small bowl in front of you and place your lips over the hole at the rounded end of the egg and steadily blow out the liquid contents. Controlled blowing ensures the pointed end of the egg remains intact and doesn't crack.

Step4 Rinse the inner shells under running water and set them aside to dry, once you have processed the amount of eggs required for your project

Step5 Use the liquid eggs for scrambled eggs or omelets.

=One Hole Method= The one hole method requires using a syringe or some sort of bellows to push air into the egg, forcing the white and yolk out. Step-by-step directions with photos can be found at the link below.

Please see related links below.

Answer 2

It depends! There are advantages and disadvantages to each blowing out the egg at various stages of the pysanka making process. It comes down, in the end, to individual preference.

Method A - Blow Middle & Coat w/wax

1. Draw pencil lines on the egg

2. Decorate the egg with wax and dye

3. After the final dye bath, dip the egg into melted wax to coat it completely

4. Blow out the egg and let it dry out

5. Clean the wax off the egg (usually using the oven method)

6. Varnish the egg

Pros of Method A

· Best way to attain good color saturation

· Melting off the wax is much easier because the air inside the egg heats up considerably, which allows the beeswax to melt quickly and stay melted longer

· Extra coating of wax protects the shell from cracking while you are blowing it out

Cons of Method A

· Uses up a LOT of beeswax if you don't recapture the wax in muffin tins when you put the eggs in the oven (I use silicone muffin tins)

· Generally requires oven method to remove wax, because candling it off takes a very long time

Method B - Blow Middle & Redye

1. Draw pencil lines on the egg

2. Decorate the egg with wax and dye

3. Blow out the egg and let it dry out

4. Cap the hole with a small plug of beeswax

5. Dye the egg again in the final background color

6. Melt the wax off the egg

7. Varnish the egg (usually with MSA)

Pros of Method B

· Melting off the wax is much easier because the air inside the egg heats up considerably, which allows the beeswax to melt quickly and stay melted longer.

· Does not use as much beeswax as Method A

· Does not require a container of melted beeswax to be available

Cons of Method B

· When you blow out an egg that is not covered completely with either varnish or beeswax, you run the risk of ruining the final dye color. The dye is water soluble, so if any fluid gets on the eggshell, whether it is raw egg or water, the fluid will wash off the dye. This is mostly a problem near the hole at the tip of the egg.

· During the process of rinsing out the inside of the egg with vinegar water, some of the water might seep out through the pores in the eggshell, resulting in pinhole-sized white dots all over the egg. This can also happen during the final dye bath. (Solution: let the egg dry out completely for a week, cap the end and dye again.)

· You must hold down the egg in the dye, which risks cracking the shell.

· Difficult to attain perfectly even color saturation of the final background color

Method C - Blow First

1. Blow out the egg and let it dry out

2. Cap the hole with a small plug of beeswax - Remember to remove the cap while applying wax on the egg to let it air out, and reapply it before each dye bath

3. Decorate the egg with wax and dye; use a spoon, an egg dipper, or Bill's special system to hold the egg down in the dye.

4. Melt off the wax

5. Varnish the egg

Pros of Method C

· Good way to store eggs-long term, e.g. if you receive many at once and cannot decorate them right away

· Many unusual eggs are only available blown

· Melting off the wax is much easier because the air inside the egg heats up considerably, which allows the beeswax to melt quickly and stay melted longer

Cons of Method C

· When you dye a blown egg, some of the dye may seep into the interior, then leak out later either through the hole ruining the color at the tip of the egg.

· Some of the dye may seep out through the pores in the eggshell, resulting in pinhole-sized white dots all over the egg. (Solution: let the egg dry out completely for a week, cap the end and dye again.)

· You must hold down the egg in the dye, which risks cracking the shell.

Method D - Blow Last

1. Draw pencil lines on the egg

2. Decorate the egg with wax and dye

3. Clean the wax off the egg

4. Varnish the egg with polyurethane

5. Blow out the egg

Pros of Method D

· Simplest way to attain good color saturation

Cons of Method D

· A bit harder to melt the wax off a whole egg, because the raw contents cool the shell, keeping the beeswax hard (this is may be frustrating for some beginners). On the other hand, a full egg has more heft and is easier to hang on to.

· Cannot use this method with MSA varnish, which requires a hole for dipping