Crayon Art

Making crayon art is a fun and easy way to reuse old or broken crayons. Since this project involves hot wax, make sure to be safe when handling it.

To complete this project, you will need crayons, paper, tape, a heat gun or hair-dryer, and old paper (like newspaper).

Since melted wax has a residue that soaks through paper, it is essential to put a base of old papers underneath the paper you are working on. Be prepared to have wax go beyond the paper you are working on by placing the base all around your area. If you want to secure your paper from blowing away, you can use some tape on the back of it. This step is entirely optional but may come in handy if you don't want to hold down your paper the entire time. At this time, also take off any paper wrappings left on your crayons.

For this step, fold over a small section of your paper, at the bottom. Place your crayon, perpendicularly, in that crease, so it still sticks out. Then tape the paper down around the bottom of the crayon. This tape does not have to last forever, just long enough for the crayon to melt enough to stick to the paper.

Use your heat gun or hair-dryer to start melting the crayon. If you are using a heat gun, put it on a low heat level. If you are using a hair-dryer, put it on the highest heat level. Then, using different positions and angles, start melting the wax and blowing it into different directions. If you use a shallow angle, you can spray the wax toward the far end of your paper.

Once your first crayon has been sufficiently melted (you don't need to melt the entire crayon), place a new crayon into the crease, and tape it down. Then, repeat the process of Step 3 for however many crayons you wish to use.

Once you have used all the crayons you want to, cut off the creased edge and any other parts of the paper that you want to. Some ideas of what shape to cut your paper into are: a heart, a star, a car, a flower, etc. With different color combinations, anything is possible. Then, as your paper finishes drying, it may start to curl. To avoid your wax cracking when you straighten the paper, place it between two books. If you want to avoid the wax transferring onto the books, place a protective sheet of paper between the two. Finally, once your wax is completely dry, add any embellishments you want to your paper. Enjoy!