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When I saw this, I IMMEDIATELY became itchy to see if it actually worked...and we have about 10 thousand broken crayons that I saved for who even knows what.
And not that I really thought the top photo was staged- but part of me for some reason was in awe and doubtful that it would actually be that easy. I have no idea why I doubted the ability of a heat source to melt wax...but I was so itching to try the project that I didn't even care if I didn't really have the correct supplies- which would include a full set of crayons and hot glue to properly affix the crayons.
So I decided just to take the labels off of some scraps, throw them onto a canvas that I sort of painted ages ago and have been saving for just such a project, and see what would happen.
Sure enough, a hairdryer will melt crayons if you hold it close enough, however, without the hot glue, it also blows them around some. But, it was nothing that the diffuser attachment of my hair dryer couldn't fix. I also grabbed some disposable wooden chopsticks to help swirl around the melting wax without burning my hands. I did the project in stages, just a few crayons and sections at a time, so all together it probably took me almost an hour- but the end result looked like this:
It was so fun and kind of soothing to watch the wax melt and then swirl it together using the chopsticks. My only regret is that I wish I would have used the same brand of crayon for every color because some of the blue didn't melt quite as well as the pinks, so it's a bit lumpy in spots.
And also, I should have hung it on the wall right away because my kids were goofing around with it and cracked the wax in a few spots. Although I think that if I were to heat it back up gently I could probably fix that problem.
I didn't melt crayon all of the way to the edges (because I was running out of the colors that I wanted), but I was able to finish it off with a small border of the acrylic paint that I used in the stenciling.
Ta-Dah!
If you love this project, check out the grown up twist that I put on this project with a blue and white masterpiece here.
Very cool take on that project...you've inspired me!
ReplyDeleteBEAUTIFUL!
ReplyDeleteCool! I've been looking at glue guns to melt crayons down a canvas. The instructions I found said that I needed a high-temp glue gun to do it. WELL!! It's good to know that I can do it with a hair dryer.... I'll let you know how it goes... The Princess & I thought this was such a cool thing to do.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, this looks like a blast... and I've got a lot of crayons laying around... hmmmmm, Also, that room is really coming together great!!
ReplyDeleteLOVE IT!
ReplyDeleteI've been looking at all of the crayon art on Pinterest and dying to try it, but didn't really want to have the exact same piece of art as everyone ELSE on Pinterest.
You're idea is so much more individualised and DEFINITELY more customisable.
Thanks for a great idea
(Now... off to the stationery cupboard to find those old broken crayons)
Oooooh, fun! I love your take on the melted crayons...I was getting tired of seeing the same old thing too; I like that you tried something outside the box! Thanks for sharing at Shine on Fridays!
ReplyDeleteit's awesome and takes me back to my childhood when we would melt down quantities of crayons to make candles! lovely!
ReplyDeletevisiting via lifemadelovely and invite you to my kate spade & bling giveaway:
http://www.hellolovelyinc.blogspot.com/2012/01/something-old-something-new-giveaway.html
smiles.
michele
I shared this post over at my blog www.ambertackles.blogspot.com, in a post about recycling crayons. I hope you approve!
ReplyDelete