A Twist on Crayon Art

I saw this Melted Crayon Art post on A Bit of This and That and knew we had to try it! Thanks, Jo!

For this art project you need crayons, double sided tape, canvas, and a hair dryer. We had everything except the hair dryer (No, we do not own a hair dryer. I know that shocks most people, but it is what it is.) Luckily, my mom did not mind us borrowing her hair dryer :)

First, we had to remove the paper from the crayons. In the past, this has been a tedious and painful job...until I read about soaking the crayons in hot water. The hot water makes the paper just fall right off. Unfortunately, I was impatient and decided to microwave the water...big mistake! The paper came off, but the crayons immediately started melting in the water. I was hurriedly trying to fish them out before they turned into crayon mush. I got enough out for our project, but I'm pretty sure that my glass measuring cup is ruined.

Then, we put a piece of double sided tape across the top of the canvas. E(2) helped me push the crayons onto the tape. They kept falling off, so this was a little tricky. The girls and I took turns holding the hair dryer and aiming it at the crayons. We had it on low because the force of the wind (when it was on high) knocked the crayons off the tape. However, it really wasn't hot enough (on low) to melt the crayons. *sigh* We didn't give up (although, O lost interest and started her own science experiment involving melted crayons and water).

Eventually, the crayons were melted enough to stay on the canvas, and we put the hair dryer on high. They melted quickly once I turned it on high. O(5) came back to help, and E had fun holding the hair dryer. I think I was the most impressed with watching how the crayons turned to liquid and dripped down the canvas. We eventually had a beautiful piece of artwork, and 2 proud little girls.