Crafts: Meltable art

8/29/2011 09:27:00 AM Ashley 6 Comments

As stated a few weeks ago, Nate and I started a craft project together. That project was the very popular melted crayon art. It was something that I found on Pinterest and when I showed it to Nate we somehow magically ended up with boxes of crayons and canvas. Nate's always looking for something crafty that he can do, because sometimes he feels that being an awesome baker isn't enough.

I set to work, gluing on the crayons.

IMG_3733

A lot of the DIYs I found were using hot glue...and while I do LOVE me some hot glue, I decided to go with super glue. It didn't seem logical to use a glue that melts with heat on a project that gets melted with...heat.

IMG_3714
IMG_3721

I lined up all of the crayons with the logo up in my best attempt at ROYGBIV.

IMG_3724

We then headed outside with my blowdryer.

IMG_3725

Nate was super excited...


Especially when it started working.

We worked on the crayons for awhile, but while a hairdryer gets hot, it doesn't get hot enough to make the melting process happen quickly. We also didn't like that the force of the air was pushing around the wax. It was making for a splatter-y look that nether of us liked. Nate kept saying that a heat gun would be perfect for this job and that's when the light bulb went off in my head. I went and grabbed my embossing gun.

It was perfect. A little too perfect. Lets just say that if you let the embossing gun stay in one spot for too long...the paper wrappers would start smoking. Once we figured out the prime distance and sweeping motion we were golden. We were really able to start get the look we were looking for. Melted, layered wax.

After we had a good look going on, we decided that we didn't love all of the white space left at the bottom of the canvas. We didn't want to lose the layered look we had going, so we decided to add crayons to the other side of the canvas.

IMG_3732

Seeing as I had glued the other row with the label up, I had no idea what colors what the colors were and I wanted to line them up the same on both sides. So I set to work laying the fresh crayons on top of the melted.

IMG_3734
IMG_3738

Again, I glued them down with super glue. I glued this row with the color name up, so you can see which color is which. At this point I totally took over. Nate had his fun and it was my turn!

IMG_3757

Watching the wax melt, drip and pool was beyond entertaining. I kind of want to do 20 more just so I can play with the wax. Though with as anal as I am...I did melt and remelt the wax a lot. I like finding perfection in chaos.

IMG_3788
IMG_3787

I must say, it was an easy craft...unless you are me. I did, after all, say that I like things to be perfect (or what is perfect to me) and it was easy for me to get carried away. I wanted to add my personal touch, which was the super layered look. We also love that we can hang the art a few different ways. Though having it sideways so that the crayon drips look like they are fighting gravity is our favorite way to hang it.

IMG_3744

Anyone who knows me, knows I am a sucker for texture. And once I figured out that you could layer the wax...I went to town. Hello texture!

Honestly, this was one of the easiest crafts I have done recently. It's even easier if you aren't crazy anal like I am. I mean if I weren't so crazed I probably could have had this done in hours instead of 4 days of messing around. What can I say...I find ways to make simple things harder than they should be!

Edit: I forgot to mention some things...

...Use Crayola Crayons because the cheap ones just won't cut it (we didn't test this, but we have seen self admitted fails from other people that used brands like Roseart). Also, while the canvas was good it wasn't perfect. With the canvas having an open back the wax had a tendency to crack or pop off if disturbed too much. You can fix this by placing something solid (like cardboard) in the opening. Or you could just attach the crayons to foam board and then place the foam board in a frame. It's really personal preference. And last thing, seal your wax with a clear coat. It should help lock the wax in place and hopefully keep it from melting (not that our house would ever get that hot).


So what do you think!?

6 comments :

  1. OMG, Ashley, I ADORE this. Seriously adore. I want one for my house. Thank you for posting! I am so excited to try this ... once I get my walls painted to solid colors ... yay!! 

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am in LOVE. I want to do this now, so badly.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It really is so simple! Just some tips...use Crayola Crayons because the Roseart ones just won't cut it. Also, while the canvas is great, the open part in the back isn't as stable as I would like it to be. Which can lead to the wax cracking. You can fix it by placing cardboard back there to add strength or you can use foam board to attach the crayons to (which you could then frame). 

    Post about it once you have a chance to make one, I'd love to see it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Do it! It's so fun! We found 24 packs of Crayola Crayons for $.25! So it's totally cheap, fun art!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful and funky!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I saw that same pin too! I have to admit, I like yours way better :) So much in fact that I am pinning it right now!!!

    ReplyDelete