Traditional Czech Easter egg decorating: storytelling with straw

A collection of eggs decorated with straw. Photo by Jan KameníčekMarcela Hrabovská is an expert from the Czech Republic in traditional egg decorating with straw.

In the following 11-minute video with English subtitles, she discusses the history, symbolism and cultural significance of eggs carefully adorned with barley and oat straw. As she speaks, she demonstrates the process of selecting, splitting and curling the straw, as well as cutting lengths into tiny pieces and using a needle-like tool to glue them to an  egg for intricate, meaningful patterns.

Hrabovská reveals the inspiring and sometimes naughty messages the eggs could communicate. She also discusses how some Czech women once relied on the export of their decorated eggs as a way to produce income.  

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Dye eggs red with yellow onions and make "scratch eggs" for Easter

From left, a brown egg, a white egg dyed 15 minutes in yellow-onion-skin dye, white eggs dyed overnight with scratched patterns made by a paper towel and, next, a knife,Dye Easter eggs red by boiling them with the skins of yellow onions.

Seeing this claim on several websites, I decided to try it. I collected the papery outer skins from yellow onions for a few weeks until there were enough to half fill a 10-quart stainless-steel stock pot. I'd estimate that the amount was from at least a dozen large onions. 

I added six cups of water to the pot, brought it to a boil, pressed the skins down into the water, turned off the heat and let it sit overnight. The water looked nice and orange, just as one website said it would. Then I brought the water to boiling again and let is sit covered until it cooled down.

Next, I poured 4 cups of the onion water into a smaller pot, added 2 tablespoons of vinegar and four white eggs. I threw in as many of the onion skins as I could fit and brought the eggs to a boil. Then I turned off the heat and let them sit for 15 minutes. When I first put the eggs in, they immediately took on the nice orange color of the liquid. Since I was so excited about the possibility of the eggs turning red, I made the mistake of not leaving one out to see how the lighter dye would hold (More on that later.)

When I took the eggs out after 15 minutes, they were about the color of brown eggs. NOT very exciting. So I left out one of the eggs for comparison and put the pot with the other three in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, those were a more pleasing terra cotta red, but the dye did not take evenly. Some areas had lines in places where the onion skins had touched them in the pot. 

This made me wonder if perhaps the first woman to make "scratch eggs" was disappointed by an uneven Easter egg dye job and decided right then and there to use a sharp implement to save it by  scratching away at the dye to make pretty patterns that would camouflage an unsatisfactory dye job.

Here's a video showing the "scratch" process. (Focus on the work and try to ignore the fly)

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Vision boards as art: A decoupage craft project for a happy new year

Words to live by: Back in the day when kids declared themselves “BFF” or best friends forever, the craft brand Plaid came up with this project idea for a canvas celebrating friendship.

Years later and at the dawn of a new year, we like the finished piece because it emphasizes, in a format meant to be displayed, some of the most important qualities of a strong friendship (you can lean on me, laugh, share good times).

This wordy decoupage project is great way to relax on the eve of a new year with an activity that can set the tone for 2019.

Plaid still makes word stickers for scrapbooking and decoupage projects such as this one, but it's also easy to clip out magazine words and images that speak to our goals or to print them out from the Internet. Such a project is appropriate for today and for the first part of the year because, with the right words and images, it can be a reminder to stay on track with our resolutions and the ways we want to grow better and stronger in the new year.

The beauty of decoupage is that it can be done on a variety of surfaces. Plaid makes its Mod Podge glue and sealer in several formulations:  for paper, fabrics, furniture and even outdoor surfaces. There are matte, gloss, glittered and other finishes. So grab a magazine and clip out inspiring words and images to make yourself a crafty vision board — a beautiful, visual reminder of your dreams and what it takes to be the very best you.

There's still time to get to the crafts store! For a bit more guidance, see our previous instructions to make an inspirational decoupage table.  

Tasting party: Condiment servers double as a cute place for cheese

Aged Wisconsin cheddar, BelGiosio pepato and Great Midwest habanero jack to pair with pale ale. Courtesy of Wisconsin Milk Marketing BoardCheese usually tastes best at room temperature, so presenting it on a cheese plate or board is a good option when cheese is the main food event, such as at wine and cheese tasting party.

It's a good idea to keep a little chill under the cheese, however, when it won't be the center of attention, such as at a Super Bowl Party where it will be among many delicious options snacked on over an extended period.  

This image from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board shows an attractive presentation of that idea. Here, cubes of aged Wisconsin cheddar, BelGiosio pepato and Great Midwest habanero jack are stored in a chilled container. Check out eatwisconsincheese.com for more cheese information and recipes.

Finding the container that's holding the cheese took some web searching.

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Scrapbooking techniques for baking from Wilton

Flowers cut from Wilton's Sugar Sheets 'grow' from spring cupcakes.Scrapbooking remains one of the nation's most popular hobbies with a wide range of papers, embellishments and shape-cutting punches available to decorate the pages that hold keepsake photos and other mementos.

Wilton has just released a new book called "Punch, Cut, Decorate" that borrows techniques for scrapbooking to deliver more excitement and ideas to those who enjoy decorating baked goods. 

The company's gum paste, rolled fondant and the newer Sugar Sheets!, an edible decorating "paper," come in a wide variety of colors and are the raw materials that can be cut into numerous shapes and edges ranging from flowers to leaves or spirals.

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