Crayon Art

as i promised last week sometime, i have a very creative art project that takes only about an hour and half, about $10 in supplies, but adds a unique pop of color to brighten any room.  the added bonus is that it can easily be done with kids!


as i've cited before, pinterest is, shall we say, a hobby of mine.  i won't go so far as obsession, although sometimes it borders on that.  if you haven't checked out the website yet, take a few minutes to peruse this online pinboard and marvel at the magnitude of ideas you can get.


i found this activity on pinterest and just had to do it.  i won't bore you with the details and the process since i can link you to it -- the pictures and descriptions are far better than what i would give, anyway.  i will post the pictures of my own creations, though.


so you're probably wondering by now what it is....






wait for it...


melted crayon art.  sounds crazy, right?  kinda is.  but i like how you can control the colors to match your decor, involve the kids, and it only takes a few supplies and less than two hours to complete.  this would look exceptional in a kids room as well as a living space.

here's what i used:

• 3 larger sized canvas
• 96 count box of crayons
• 5 hot glue rods and (1) gun

here's how i did it:

• i soaked the crayons in some warm water to remove the paper.  you could leave it on, but i liked it better without.
• minihe picked out the colors and we discussed colors, shades, light and dark, and had a grand old time deciding what went together.
• i glued the crayons to the canvas
• minishe helped me tip them upside-down and blow dry the crayons to make them melt.
• to this day, months later, she still points to them and says "hot, hot, hot."
• i then attached that 3M poster hanging stuff to the backside of the canvas and hung them up on the wall. 
• all was said and done in under 2 hours

here's what i learned:

• i tried to recreate an actual design first.  bad idea. just do the "original" way until you know how the melting colored wax will act.
• melted wax does not remove off of surfaces as well as i thought.  i ruined a two towels and a rug with this little project.
• be careful not to run the hot glue gun on the crayon itself.  while this may seem like a no-brainer, i didn't think of it a first and gummed up the tip of my hot glue gun.

this is what my center one is supposed to look like.
i think adding some artificial daisies might help...