Crayon Painting
I wish that I could credit where I first saw this fun activity (Pinterest, maybe?). This craft has all of the elements I love in a family activity: crayons, glue gun, risk of second-degree burn, and an output of a killer art project. The end result lived up to my expectations, but the process was more about Billy and I doing the craft since the kids' interest tended to wax and wane. (Wax. Get it? Crayons. Wax?) It's a project that involves patience, but the end result is cool.
That said, I still think this is a great art piece that makes a fun gift. Here's how it goes...
Buy a large box of crayons. We used a 96 box, but if you use a smaller canvas you can buy a smaller box. REMEMBER TO PULL OUT ALL BROWN & BLACK CRAYONS!! Those colors don't look pretty streaming down a canvas. Lay out colors like a rainbow. Kids LOVED this process.Glue gun the crayons to the canvas with the tips pointed down. The decision you need to make before gluing them down is whether to show the Crayola logo OR the names of the crayons. It's not easy to do both. We opted for the logo, but we debated it. The kids LOVED talking about the funny crayon names.
After the crayons are attached, take your canvas to a spot where stray splashes won't bother you. Use a hair dryer to melt the crayons. I expected this to be a quicker process than it was. Maybe it's the Atlanta summer heat, but I swear crayons left in a car melt in five minutes flat! Not so much on the canvas.
There's a technique we found helpful. For the wax to stream out of the paper, it's important to heat the entire crayon. Don't start by applying the heat to the tips. Get the hairdryer right on up there. We did this by putting the dryer on the paper for a minute or so at a time.
- Eventually you'll see the wax melting and flowing throughout the paper cover. This is good. You'll notice that as you wave the dryer around, the colors will blend into each other. That's part of the fun. You need to decide how "pure" you want your streams to look. Play with it! Billy and I had a great time tweaking with the streams. Again, it took a bit of time (probably 90 minutes for the total project), but all of the uninterrupted conversation that happened along the way was a surprise bonus of the morning!!
Make sure that you have a yellow dog nearby who is hiding in the shrubbery. Ok. Maybe that isn't essential, and we really don't know why this is Mack's favorite summer spot, but it is. Then again, we don't understand much of what this dog does.
Allow the canvas to cool. Hang your art or give away to someone who has an appreciation for the finer things in life!
Finally, heat up your hairdryer and then wipe it down with a paper towel. Otherwise you may go to the office the next day with a green wax streak in your hair. (Green is my color, so I didn't mind the added touch!)