DIY melted crayon art

Happy Weekend, Blogland!

I just finished doing my latest art project, and I am so happy with how it turned out, so I wanted to share it with you all :) FINALLY --- a pinterest project I didn't just completely fail!!! I made this for my mom, who is a 1st grade teacher, to hang in her classroom.

Interested in making your own?

Here are the steps!

1. What you need to have on hand: 

• a 64-crayon box of crayons (crayola brand melts best!) or more
• a canvas (16 inches x 20 inches is what I used)
• mod podge (I used gloss finish) --- find at Michael's
• paintbrush
• blowdryer
• hot glue gun and glue sticks
• stick on letters if you want to have a word at the bottom

2. Decide which order you want your colors to go in, I stuck with the classic rainbow formation because I love rainbows! Line up the crayons at the top of your canvas. I didn't use browns or some other weird greens that I thought might look gross when melted. 

3. Put some hot glue along the top few inches of your canvas, enough to glue on a few crayons at a time. Glue down the crayons with the tips pointing down, it looks extra nice if you line them all up to have the same part of the crayon wrapper showing too. 

4. Once all your crayons are on, plug in your blowdryer and aim it directly at the crayons. WARNING --- some serious crayon wax splashing happens during this craft, so be sure you have enough space and something down on your floor to prevent a big mess. Luckily, I have a drop cloth in my craft space, it turned out looking like this:

5. Once the crayons get melty, you can tilt the canvas to encourage some of the colors to blend together, or you can just keep it straight and watch the wax drip to the bottom! Be sure to leave a little room at the bottom of the canvas if you want to put a word in. 

6. Once you have done all the melting you want to do, let the canvas cool down for a little bit. While it is cooling, you can add whatever word you want to at the bottom of the canvas.

7. Now it's time for Mod Podge! Use a paintbrush, and apply a generous even coat onto the entire project (crayon and the word and all the white space in between). Mod Podge is an excellent finish on this project because if you don't use it, the crayon drips will easily chip off of the canvas. The Mod Podge seals in everything and provides it with a beautiful glossy finish, it makes the melted crayon look really wet and drippy --- which I loved! Don't worry, the Mod Podge paints on white, but dries clear :)

8. Let it dry and paint another layer of Mod Podge if you'd like, then VOILA! Beautiful homemade art!

Have you tried this craft before? Any tips on how to make it even better? It's super easy and a lot of fun! Let me know if you try it out! Good luck :)

CHEERS to COLORS!!!