Friday, September 30, 2011

Crayons Can Melt On Us...

I pinned this project a while back (when crayons were still $0.40 a box!). I don't know why, but I kind of procrastinated completing it. Sadly, I had everything I needed, I bought the canvas almost two years ago and I have so many crayons I could outfit a first grade class! I just can't resist when they are so cheap. I loved the fun colors, and knew it would go perfectly in my kids' playroom-which I just happen to be fixing up lately!


You'll need:

- approximately 4 boxes of crayons

-hot glue gun

-canvas (16x20 stretched and primed)

-hair dryer


I figured out how many crayons I needed by laying them out in advance. I used four boxes, minus the gray, white, black and brown crayons. I also decided that I did not want to line to crayons straight across the top. I liked the look of having them staggered better. That is the beauty of laying them out! I also decided I wanted to have the "Crayola" portion of the label showing. I have seen some where they show the color name, but I preferred the uniformity.


This part was so easy. Rather than trying to put glue on the crayons (I tried that initially, it was tricky) I just ran two short lines of glue and shoved as many crayons on as I could. I ran the lines about an inch apart and the key to staggering them was just making sure that I did not put any two neighboring crayons at the same height. I think if I did it again, I would probably further exaggerate the unevenness. Oh well, you live and learn.


Once all the crayons were glued, I dragged it outside, propped it on a crate and plugged in my hairdryer.


I set it to high and started blowing! I started out trying to stay even-going across the whole board in long lines. That doesn't work because it allows the crayons to cool too much between passes. Focus on one area until the crayons start to bleed.


It is really fun to watch them drip! Then you just decide how much you want to melt them.


I wish I had let Jocelyn watch this part. It would have been a good art lesson to see the colors blend together and form new ones. It would also be a great science lesson on melting!


I still wanted my crayons to have tips so I didn't melt them down too much. Be careful, how you aim the hairdryer will change how the wax drips. I even got a little on the edges of my canvas, but it wasn't that big of a deal. I found it worked best when I positioned the dryer above the tips pointed straight down. I really focused on melting the ends, but I suppose if you wanted your canvas to be more "drippy" you could go up and down the entire crayon.


My beautiful "art". I originally was going to stop after I took the top photo, then I decided to melt it a little more. I am pretty sure I could take it off the wall and melt it even further if I wanted to. It was about a 15 minute project- total satisfaction! It dried really quickly, too, and was a snap to hang. I didn't even put picture wire on the back. Ta-Da!


P.S. Bonus points to anyone who can tell me where I got my title from. I absolutely couldn't resist the reference-it was too perfect.

5 comments:

  1. I loved this idea when I saw it. However I had no idea what I would do with it;P Yours turned out awesome! I bet the playroom is going to be super cute:)

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  2. That's so hipster chic. And the title is from Relient K's Four Score and Seven Years Ago, do I get a prize?

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  3. No Beag! I was going to say that. :P This is super cool Clare! You are so crafty.

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  4. It turned out really good! I am glad you did it before me, now I kinda know what to do!

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  5. How did I miss this? I've seen this project before and I love that someone I know actually tried it. Awesome!

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