Melted Crayon Art

Have you ever wondered what to do with those half used crayons your kids come home with at the end of every school year? This instructable will show you how to make stunning artwork with all those broken and half used crayons.

You will need:

1. Old Crayons

2. Heat Gun

3. Canvas (I used a 12"x16")

4. Wax Paper

1. Choose the colors you would like for your artwork (we went with cool tones in blues, greens, and purples).

2. Peel the wrappers off all of the crayons.

3. Separate your crayons into piles of similar colors.

4. Rip off a piece of wax paper. Put one color of crayons on the one side of the paper and fold in half over the crayons. Fold the sides under.

5. Using a hammer or other hard object firmly but gently hit smash the crayons. If you hit it too hard you will rip your wax paper. If you find the paper tearing, simply get move the crayons over or transfer to a new sheet.

6. Place each color of smashed crayon pieces in a small container.

1. Starting at one corner start pouring one of your colors onto the canvas (see note on step three). You can put a small amount of each of your colors in each area or put one color in each corner of the canvas. Save a small amount of each color in the container.

2. After you have poured all of your colors onto the canvas the way you like, gently spread the pieces out so they cover the entire canvas. If you are putting a color in each corner intermingle the colors somewhat when they meet.

3. If you like the look of the canvas in the fourth photo you can stop at this step, you will however need to spay your canvas with spray adhesive before you put the crayon pieces on and cover with with shellac once you have your pieces where you want them. Otherwise continue on to the next step.

1. Tear off a piece of wax paper the size of your canvas and place over the crayon pieces.

2. Turn on your heat gun and starting in one corner hold the gun about two inches from the wax paper. The wax paper will smoke a little at first as the wax burns off. Keep working slowly as the wax melts under the paper. You may need to hold the paper down with the end of a paintbrush or skewer to help some of the bigger chunks to melt. Make sure the pieces are completely melted and try to push out air bubbles with your stick. Work your way around the canvas until all the pieces are completely melted.

3. If you like the look of your canvas at this point you can trim the excess wax paper off the edges and hang as is. This does offer a little more protection for you canvas and gives a more muted look. If you want a bolder look carry on to the next step.

1. Wait until the wax has cooled. Do not try and remove the wax paper while wax is still warm.

2. Starting at one corner slowly peal the wax paper from the canvas.

3. You will find some holes left where there were air pockets. You can either leave them or fill them with the extra pieces you set aside. Very small pieces work best for this part. Cover with a small piece of wax paper and remelt the section. This part can be a bit tricky so work carefully. The more you melt the wax the more the colors will blend into one color so just be aware when remelting. You can also remelt if you desire it to be more blended and you can even try it without the wax paper now.

Now that you have finished your masterpiece you can tack some ribbon to the back and hang it on the wall. Here are some other ideas that you can do with crayons, the possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Try sprinkling some glitter on top of the crayons before melting. Or try running an object like a fork through the wax when it is still melted. These also make wonderful gifts for grandparents. Thanks for taking the time to check out my instructable!