One of my favorite pins on Pinterest is the melted crayon art canvas. I do not know who had the original pin or the orriginal idea for the project. I just know it was not me! It is one of those pins that you look at it and think how simple it must be to do. Turns out it really is a simple project! It is also a penny pinching project that will have a ‘wow’ factor and something the kids can do with minimal help. They can say that they truly did it on their own! (except for the hot glue part)
Here is the penny pinching part.
Get a 2 pack of canvases at A.C. Moore and use a 50% off 1 full price item coupon. They are usually in the Sunday paper but if you miss it there is usually one on their website under the coupons tab.
If it is Late August or early September you can usually get crayons for under $1.
The first thing we did was organize the crayons into the color pattern we wanted.
Make sure that your pattern fits the width of your canvas.
We did not paint the canvas but if you have extra paint hanging around your house that would be another artistic touch.
Here is my daughter getting artsy and trying an up and down pattern.
***BIG NOTE!****
Before you start putting the crayons on the canvas be sure you have your hanger on the back of the canvas. If you wait until after the project is complete you may shatter some crayons when you use a hammer to pound in nails on a hanger. Not that I have experience or anything. :)
Directions
Using a hot glue gun run a bead of hot glue on the back side of the crayon.
While the glue is still hot affix it to the canvas. Repeat until all the crayons are on the canvas. I decided to line up the bottom of the crayon with the top of the canvas. I was going to try and line up the paper wrappers but then I noticed the paper wrappers were not exactly placed in the same spot. But that is just me and my OCD again!
Here are all the crayons lined up in a row.
Note that I have all the names on the crayon wrappers facing up. I like a little precision.
I took my project outside because I wasn’t sure if the wax would go flying when it was hot due to the hairdryer. *a heat gun works well too but I don’t have one.
Turns out I was right! There would be a stray drop of wax fly away due to the wind of the hairdryer.
Using your hairdryer set on the highest heat setting start on one side concentrating in one spot at a time.
Can you see the wax getting soft, glossy and starting to ooze?
Once it starts to drip and run, move down the line of crayons.
The longer you stay in one spot the more it will run.
So easy even the 4 year old can do it!
Here is a video so you can see the wax running: