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Kraslice: Czech Easter Eggs


Check out Kraslice, the amazingly detailed art of Czech egg painting! Kraslice is the Czech word for Easter Egg.  Girls decorate these eggs and give them to boys on Easter.  There is an interesting history behind these eggs and the Easter tradition, called Velikonoce, in the Czech Republic, and former Czechoslovakia.  The art of painting these eggs is tedious and requires lengthy dedication, depending on the detail it could take several hours!  Many techniques are used to achieve the endless designs, such as the batik dye method, encasing in knotted wire, brushing with wax and scratching the surface to create designs, and more.

I discovered this beautiful tradition thanks to Linda, who left a comment on my Easter egg designs post from last year. Linda, who writes the cooking and recipe blog Dinner With the Welches, left me a link to her mother's blog Czeching In Again, which features their family's wonderful Czech Kraslice painted eggs. I'm in love - so unique and whimsical! I really enjoyed reading about their special artistic tradition and family stories, not to mention the clever blog name! You should definitely head on over to Czeching In Again to read and see more of these awesome Kraslice eggs, the women in Linda's family are truly great artists.

You can read more about Kraslice here and here, and the history of the Easter egg and all of the world traditions here. 

Here are a few Kraslice egg designs painted by Linda's mother and grandmother...
(see more of them here and here)






Source: CzechingInAgain.blogspot.com





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Here are some more stunning examples of Kraslice from around the web...

These are from this site, check it out for lots more amazing examples!

These detailed cranberry colored Kraslice eggs are from here.

These cobalt blue Kraslice Eggs are from here.

These Kraslice eggs (from here) are hollowed out and have perforated holes in various sizes to create a unique design and look. So pretty and delicate!


Or how about these white and silver ones from Fler.cz - they are perfection!

More blue eggs, love 'em! Found here.

Oooooh these are so elegant! Found here.

How about a basket of these (from here)? Yes please!

I LOVE these colors!  Image from here.

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I found a beautiful site called Czech Eggs that you might want to check out, however it is currently under construction, but their Facebook page has lots more great photos and ideas!   You can contact them here.








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Other sites that sell Kraslice egg decor and ornaments are: 

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And last but not least, do you want to try your hand at making some Kraslice?  I'm imagine it must require the patience of a saint in order to complete but I'd love to try!  I found this great step-by-step guide to making your own Czech Kraslice eggs by Janna White at Helium: Crafts.

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(The images in this post are not my images, all images are individually sourced, cited, and linked above.)
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