We made melted crayon stained glass a while back, with the plan (mine) of cutting the sheets of melted crayon art into hearts for Valentine’s Day.

But while the kids were super into the melted crayon stained glass part, they would hear nothing of the heart part.

They had their own vision for their art and, of course, it was so much better.

Not only did they arrange their crayon shavings painstakingly between the wax paper to create the look they were going for, they added marker drawings over the stained glass sheets to complete their artwork.

Here are the step by step instructions for this project with (lots of) photos…

Melted Crayon Stained Glass Art

MATERIALS

• Crayons
• Cheese grater (or a pencil sharpener)
• Wax paper
• Iron
• Sharpie markers

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1 :: Gather Some Crayons.

Chunky toddler crayons are awesome because they are quicker and easier to grate. But regular crayons work fine, too. We used both.

Step 2 :: Grate Crayons

Grate your crayons on a sturdy cheese grater to produce crayon shavings.* Be careful with your fingers!

*Note :: You can also use a pencil sharpener to make crayon shavings.

To some of you, this might look like a lot of work and not very fun. But my kids LOVE to do this. We have one cheese grater and they fight over turns. The crayon grating part of this activity went on for days.

Keep your crayon shavings separated by color in individual dishes or the sections of a muffin tin.

Or, if you’re like my younger child, enjoy the mixed colors and don’t worry too much about keeping them separate (as in the photo above on the right).

Step 4 :: Add Crayon Shavings to Wax Paper

Cut or tear a sheet of wax paper and fold it in half to crease the center. Unfold.

Trays come in handy, to contain the crayon shavings and to transport the half-finished artwork to the iron, but are not necessary. The inexpensive plastic trays pictured here are from Ikea. I’ve also written about special kids’ art trays in my tools for art post.

Add crayon shavings to one side of the wax paper in any pattern or design desired. A small amount will go a long way. Fold the second half of the wax paper back over to sandwich in the crayon shavings.

Step 5 :: Iron Crayon Shaving Sandwich

Set the wax paper/crayon shaving sandwich on a piece of newsprint or other paper on your ironing board (or, on top of a towel on the floor as those of us lacking an ironing board might do it). Place another piece of paper on top.

The paper is to soak up the oils from the melting crayon.

Run the iron over the paper/wax paper/crayon shaving sandwich slowly and evenly to melt the crayon. I use low heat, such as the silk setting.

Lift the top paper off to reveal your new melted crayon stained glass.

If you see areas where the crayon shavings haven’t melted, simply put the paper back down and iron over the area some more.

Hold your new artwork up to the light to reveal the stained glass effect. The colors look beautiful with sunlight shining through them!

Step 6 :: Add Drawing Details

Use Sharpie markers to add details or images to your stained glass.

Maia and Daphne both did this to their melted crayon art, but Daphne especially got into it.

She added underwater scenes to each of her artworks.

We taped our stained glass art directly on the windows, but you could create proper frames for these with construction paper or with a masking tape edge.

If you haven’t done this stained glass activity before, I recommend giving it a try with your kids! Mine loved it and worked on it off and on for over a week. (This is where having a dedicated art space comes in handy.) Even if you have tried it before (as we have many times), try it again at the age and space where your kids are now. And consider adding the drawings over the finished artworks.

P.S. If you are left with extra crayon shavings, try this melted crayon resist, use them for Easter eggs, or do one of the activities below.

More Melted Crayon Stained Glass Projects

• How to Make a Bunting Stained Glass
• Stained Glass Melts :: Melted Crayon Art at Its Best
• Melted Crayon Stained Glass Hearts (or leaves or stars…)
• Melted Crayon Stained Glass Window
• Valentine Heart Melts

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