If you draw on eggs with wax and then dip them in dye, the color doesn't adhere to the wax -- so when you melt it away, you reveal the design. Use a stylus to apply wax in refined, precise patterns, or try a crayon for simple motifs.
Remember, if you draw your wax designs on white or brown eggs and then dye the eggs, the designs will be white or brown after you've melted off the wax. If you dye the eggs a solid base color and then add the wax, the patterns will be the base color; in this case, use a light base and a darker second color.
How to Create a Wax-Resist Pattern Using a Stylus
This tool looks much like a pen, but has a barrel at the end for holding and dispensing wax. Heat the barrel of an empty stylus by holding it near a lighted candle. Scrape the beeswax patty to fill the stylus with wax, then heat the barrel again in the flame. Touch the tip of the stylus to the egg, letting wax come out, and draw your design. Heat and refill the tool as necessary.
Make line drawings, or fill in areas if you wish. Let wax dry, then submerge egg completely in dye. Remove egg; let dry, about 10 minutes.
How to Create a Wax-Resist Pattern Using a Crayon
To create a design with a crayon, draw on a white, brown, or dyed egg with any color (the crayon color doesn't matter because you will be removing the markings), then submerge egg in dye. Let dry, about 10 minutes.
To remove wax from eggs -- whether you've used a stylus or a crayon -- place them on aluminum foil on a rimmed baking sheet in an oven preheated to 250 degrees; this works for blown-out and hard-boiled eggs. When wax starts to melt, about 10 minutes, it will glisten and shine; remove eggs from oven, and hold in a paper towel as you wipe off the wax.
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