Back to school was always full of excitement. Getting new school supplies was one of my favorite things in the world, and I often wish it was still a yearly tradition! This DIY gets pretty close, though, and is a really simple way to make a festive and colorful piece of art.
The project, which is quite simple, is a fantastic idea that I came across on the adorable blog, Whatever. Essentially, you affix crayons to the top of a canvas, and blast them with a hair dryer. Watch as the colors bleed down the canvas, creating a beautiful, colorful mess! I can imagine this being a great project to hang in a child's room. I might remove the crayons from the top of the canvas once I was done, or perhaps tape off the canvas to create a clean border. Selecting specific colors and playing with the composition could yield some great results! Just in time, too, because we've seen crayons on sale all over the place for back to school!
Great idea for adults, kids, and adults remembering what it felt like to be a kid!
Images: Whatever
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Comments (30)
great idea. definitely would remove the crayons, and choose complimentary colors to the room I would display it in for a more 'adult' look.
And Crayola works a *lot* better than Roseart, or generic crayons! Their colors transfer better than cheaper varieties.
To cite my source, http://gizmodo.com/5826505/why-you-should-never-buy-knock+off-crayons (other sources listed at the bottom of article).
This is a must-do project.
Love it!
Absolutely fantastic!
Cool! It would look interesting hung with the drips going horizontally.
Jessica! Where did you find this ?
http://poppytalk.blogspot.com/2011/08/party-inspiration-20-back-to-school.html
; )
It probably smells good, too. I love the smell of crayons.
I'm not sure a regular hair dryer would work. That looks like one of those industrial heat sources used for setting glue, etc. If a regular hair dryer was hot enough to melt crayons, think about how hot it would be on your head. I think a hair dryer would just make them malleable, but I could be wrong. At any rate, I love the art work and think it's a clever idea.
Nope, I take it back. I went to the "Whatever" blog and I guess it was a regular hair dryer. I guess crayons have a lower melting point than I thought. My bad.
Um, AWESOME! Love this.
Maybe if you take the Crayola wrapper off the crayons before you melt them, it could look a little neater, but I think overall, the point of this project is for the messy to be beautiful.
I seriously adore this.
@Miamis Elaine: here's to you ;-) -->
http://www.demeterfragrance.com/Product.aspx?ProductID=1117
had no test of it by myself, sorry, so I can't say wether it smells authentic or not. Just bookmarked it some time ago b/c so curious about it. If anyone here had a trial with it, please let me hear!
Going to buy crayons and make art!! thank you for the idea
I hear you can achieve a similar effect, but without the crayons on top by pushing crayons through a glue gun.
Thanks, baras!
Do not hit the crayons with a blow-dryer without the wrappers on.
Been there, done that, it's a hot mess (literally).
If you want it sans-crayola marketing, hot glue the bare crayons to your canvas and set it outside on a hot, sunny day.
I love the idea....I wonder what it might be like to have several hues going vertical and then rotate the canvas when dry and do another color perpendicular to the first
I agree it would look even better without the wrappers. Great idea!
That is a normal hair dryer shown in the picture, I used to own the same one a few years ago. This is a really cool idea, I think I want to do it for my daughter's room with different shades of purple and green to match her decor.
It's gorgeous! I want to make one for my granddaughter this winter when cabin fever sets in. Maybe one for my daughter with just black, gray, and reds.
Just made this and love it. I had a bit of an issue adhering the crayons to the canvas. I didn't want to leave the crayons on the canvas when I was finished. I first taped the crayons together with masking tape but as I heated the crayons they slowly started to slip and eventually fell. I ended up using duct tape to re-tape the crayons that had fallen. I would also suggest using the low setting on your hair dryer. It might take a bit longer but when using the hair dryer on high, the wax had a tendency to splatter.
So cool! Here's another one I learned in elementary school. Put crayon shavings between two pieces of waxed paper, and iron (I guess on a low heat level). Neat-o!
This is absolutely wonderful! Being an Art teacher and Artist myself, I can see all children and adults get really into this. Thanks so much for sharing!
LOVE this!!! So clever!
When I was a little girl, I used to melt crayons on the light bulbs of lamps. My mother would come into the room and the smell was a dead giveaway! I am going to try this!
My bf Matt and I make custom melted crayon artwork. If you'd like to check it out, here's a link: http://thegrandcrayonyon.tumblr.com - Thank you! :)
Love it!!