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Found: The Prettiest Painted Eggs in Bucharest

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Photo Editor Lori Morgan shares her Easter–inspired souvenirs from the Romanian capital. (Plus, we’ve got instructions on how to paint your own at home.)

Collectively, the Air Canada enRoute team has amassed a trove of treasures from our travels – some iconic (tiles from Lisbon), others delicious (dulce de leche from Buenos Aires) and all reflective of the places we've been. We’re sharing them here – please share yours, too!

“Everywhere I went in Bucharest, from street corners to flea markets, I spotted intricately decorated eggs, a centuries–old Romanian tradition that involves carefully hand–painting motifs onto eggshells with coloured wax. I knew I couldn’t leave the city without one, but my planned shopping day – and my last day there – turned out to be a Romanian holiday, so everything was closed.

With time running out, I stumbled upon My Romanian Store: jackpot! There, among the charming shop’s beautiful selection of local arts and crafts, from woven rugs to pottery, I spotted the eggs, piled high in handmade baskets. The hardest part was choosing just one, so I bought three. Packaged in small boxes, they survived the journey back to Montreal and are ready for my Easter table.”

Souvenir, Culture
By Lori Morgan
Photo by Nik Mirus
Prop styling by Pierce Atkinson
April 10, 2020
A pile of hand-painted Easter eggs from Romania
Bucharest, Romania.   Photo: Lori Morgan

Paint your own Romanian–style eggs:

The tradition of painted eggs in Romania dates back at least a couple of centuries. Decorative eggs were thought to hold special powers with certain colours and patterns having the ability to bring luck or ward off evil. Each egg often tells a story through the meticulously painted motifs and symbols.

Fortunately, you don’t need to fly to Bucharest to get your hands on these decorative eggs. With a few household items and arts and crafts supplies you can create your very–own oval masterpiece.
 

You will need:

  • Eggs.

  • Beeswax.

  • A pencil.

  • Colour dye.

  • A chisita (a traditional Eastern European pen tool to apply hot wax to eggs. You can buy one online, or alternatively make your own homemade version).

  • Mild dish soap or vinegar.

  • Polytheurane spray.

 

Instructions:

  1. Choose an egg without cracks or transparent spots.

  2. To clean the egg, use a gentle dish soap or vinegar then leave it overnight to dry out.

  3. Blow out the yolk from eggs until the shell is empty and plug the hole using melted beeswax.

  4. Now for the fun part: Let your imagination run wild, or find some Pinterest inspiration and then sketch your design or pattern using a pencil on the eggshell.

  5. Once you’ve traced a pattern, insert beeswax into your kistka’s funnel and heat it over a candle flame.

  6. Once the wax begins to melt, use the kistka to cover the parts of the egg pattern that you want to remain white.

  7. Now it is time to begin the process of dying your egg. If you are using more than one colour, start by using the lightest colour and work towards the darkest.

  8. Each time the egg is dyed, repeat Step 7 by adding melted beeswax using your kistka to the parts of the shell where you want to seal the colour dye. Repeat the process to dye the egg multiple times and add several colours to your pattern.

  9. Once your design is complete, you can remove the wax. The simplest way to do this is to heat your egg using an open flame, toaster or hair dryer, then gently wipe off the wax with a dry cloth.

  10. Now apply the finishing touch by sealing your beautifully decorated egg: Use a Polytheurane spray such as Krylon to give your new creation a nice sheen.

 

We want to hear about your favourite souvenirs: Send us an email or tag us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter using #enroutesouvenirs.