Get creative with this do-it-yourself craft: Melted crayon art

Mackenzie Hurlburt – Copy Editor –

This unique craft will teach you how to create a funky piece of artwork that could possibly be that new wall art you’ve been craving to spice up your dorm. This rainbow melted crayon art is messy and takes a little over an hour to complete, so it might be best to do this craft while you’re at home for the weekend.

All you need is:

-A big box of crayons

-A canvas (whatever dimensions you prefer)

-A hair dryer

-A hot glue gun

-Newspaper

-Black acrylic paint or fake flowers (optional)

1) Decide on the pattern or color scheme of the crayons which will line the top of the   canvas. Some people do different shades of blue to create a rain or water-like image, while others arrange the crayons in the order of the rainbow.

2) Once you’ve decided on the arrangement, use your hot glue gun to attach the crayons to the canvas. The crayons should be glued at the top of the canvas with their pointed ends sticking downwards.

3) After the top of the canvas is lined with crayons, move the canvas into a vertical position with the crayons still at the top and pointing downward. Make sure you have plenty of newspaper beneath and around the canvas.

4) Then using your hair dryer, start heating the tips of the crayons. You may have to adjust the heat and level of the hair dryer in order to prevent splattering, but the newspaper should be there to catch whatever wax does escape the canvas.

5) Work your way across the canvas with the hair dryer. Once the wax starts melting and dripping, make sure to use the hairdryer to direct the drip downward. If clumps of wax form midway down the canvas and you don’t like the look, you can use the hairdryer to further melt those.

6) Once you have created the desired melt effect, you could consider yourself done or you could add other media to the canvas. For example, some artists have used black acrylic paint to create the silhouette of a person holding an umbrella and have manipulated the wax drips to flow around it. Another option is to flip the canvas upside down and glue fake flower heads to the drips. The colorful wax drips create the stems of this artistically manufactured garden.