We have a new melted crayon stained glass window!
So, you know I’m a sucker for stained glass art projects. And that we are always using our windows as art display space. And I think you also know that we love all kinds of melted crayon art projects in our house, including melted crayon rocks, stained glass, seasonal suncatchers, and various watercolor resists.
So you might not be surprised that we’ve combined all of the above for our latest stained glass door.
Here’s how we did it, with all the step-by-step photos and commentary for those who find them helpful.
Melted Crayon Stained Glass Window
MATERIALS
- Thin paper such as printer paper
- Crayons
- Cookie sheet
- Vegetable oil
INSTRUCTIONS
First, I cut the paper to fit the window panes. I held the sheet of paper to the window and used a pen to score and mark where I should cut. Easy peasy. We have nine panes in this window and I cut a few extra, just in case.
We used cheap copy paper, because it’s sturdy enough for the melted crayon drawing but thin enough for the stained glass part.
I set up our drawing stations with a folded over towel to protect the table, a cookie sheet, a piece of paper cut to size, an oven mitt, and some crayons.
I put the cookie sheet into a 300 degree Fahrenheit oven for a few minutes to heat up, then transferred it to the drawing station. Maia protected her left hand with the oven mit and carefully drew with her right.
As she drew on the paper over the hot cookie sheet, the crayon melted, creating super vibrant lines. The slower the drawing, the more the crayon melted.
You can see the difference between the melted crayon and the regular crayon drawings in the sun on the left. The cookie sheet was nicely hot while she slowly and lovingly created the yellow center. By the time, she moved on to the decorated outer ring of the sun, the cookie sheet had cooled off and the drawings were more like regular crayon drawings. We reheated the cookie sheet before she drew the rays of the sun, which again melted beautifully and vibrantly.
By the way, we’ve done these with both wax crayons and soy crayons and both work equally well.
Melted crayon art is for kids who are old enough to maintain caution and work safely around the hot cookie sheet. Daphne (at 2 1/2) is not there yet. However, I didn’t want her to feel left out as Maia and I worked, so I created the same set-up for her (towel, cookie sheet, paper, crayons, oven mitt). The only difference was that her cookie sheet was NOT heated. She even kept the oven mitt on her hand while she worked at first, but then decided it just got in her way.
Also, you can see that she’s working with crayon rocks. I would never use such small, stubby crayons with melted crayon drawings because the fingers would be too close to the hot surface. Instead, we use long, unbroken crayons when working with heat.
A day or two after we finished the melted crayon art, we turned them into stained glass panels for our front door by painting vegetable oil on the back. The oil immediately makes the white paper much more transparent (you can see the design of the placemat through the paper in the photo above).
The paper was pretty oily, so we rubbed off the extra oil with a paper towel before putting them on the window.
Maia placed each melted crayon stained glass drawing into a window pane, thinking carefully about placement and moving them around a bit before she was satisfied with the final effect. The oil-covered paper clings to the window as is and doesn’t need anything else to make it stick.
Here’s our new stained glass front door, with melted crayon drawings by both Maia and me.
Have you tried melted crayon art yet? We put it off for the longest time because of the heat factor and because I thought you needed a warming tray to do it, but it is SO rewarding, I wish we had done it earlier.
More Melted Crayon Stained Glass Ideas
- Melted Crayon Stained Glass Art with Drawings
- 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…)
- Valentine Heart Melts
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We are SOOO doing this!
This looks fun!
NIce…love your window art.
I love it! We have glass panels on three of our internal doors, and I keep meaning to do something to decorate them (so the smeary toddler handprints don’t show up so much!). I think my two are a bit little for this yet (both under 3) but you’ve definitely inspired me to do something with this unused art space!
You KNOW how much I love this, right? LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE.
I wonder if you could do it right on the window instead of using the hot cookie sheet. Seriously, in the summer, our windows get hot! Hmmmm.
Great project!
Hmm… Our windows don’t get hot, so I couldn’t say, but now you have me thinking… Perhaps in the summer, you could lay your paper on the sidewalk, driveway, or car hood?
Try something like this, Mel:
https://artfulparent.com/2011/08/a-rainbow-stained-glass-window-1.html
Perfect for toddlers!
Yay!
Yes!
It is!
Thank you, Melissa!
Beautiful! I wonder if you could do this on wax paper and skip the oil part? In my classroom we use a warming tray for melted crayon use. As for directly on the windows in the summer, wouldn’t it make the wax drip? Maybe frozen crayon would work better? Definitely something I’m going to try.
Hmm. I’d think the wax from the wax paper would melt onto the cookie sheet or warming tray. And I’m having a hard time imagining a window hot enough to make the crayon drip! But perhaps that’s just me living in the mountains…
So pretty!
Hi Jean,
I love this. Like you, I have omitted melted crayon because I don’t have a warming tray. The oven warmed cookie sheet is a clever substitute. Little Arty Pants is too young right now, but I’ve put this idea in my ‘future projects file’. Thanks for the tip. Keep blogging.
Wow, so many things to say! First, so cute that you did the same set up for Daphne! Second, so impressed by Maia drawings!! She’s amazing! Going to do this one when Naomi gets older but am definitely doing the stringed beading crafts you have had on recently………….haven’t had time to comment as my good friend is getting married in three weeks.
And thanks by the way for the extra push to bake pie, it turned out delicious!
ooh, I live in Florida, I think I will try your idea, yey!
Thanks, Heather!
Glad you like the idea!
Any ideas of how this will peel off the window?
Very unique works,simple yet crafty because you manage to boost your talent and use as a decoration to your door.
I have done the melted crayon on waxed paper before. I wasn’t careful about which side of the waxed paper went on the window, and the side with the crayon eventually stuck to the window (they get hot). I had to scrape it off with a razor blade – not fun. Hope that helps some who were thinking about it. I love this idea. You continue to inspire me.
we do melted crayon paintings but a different way here is my post how if your interested: http://lettersnumbersandbooksohmy.blogspot.com/2012/05/crayons-melted-crayon-paintings.html
You’re blessed to have an artistic daughter like Maia! Looking at her artwork, it is apparent that she is blessed with a creative mind. I never thought an ordinary melted crayon could look beautiful on a stained glass window! She is a true artist, and I can see her potential. Someday you will be a proud mom of a successful artist.
Love it! I never get tired of your beautiful glass door decorations, I wish I had one in my house!
What a brilliant idea. I’m so pleased I’ve found your blog. This is another art activity going on our “must do” list. Thanks heaps for sharing.
Love this idea! Will be trying it with my 6 yr. old.
I made this with my almost 4 year old daughter today on our griddle on the lowest heat setting. She loved it and was so excited when I showed her they would stick in our window :)
For the warming tray and wax paper. It works really well, the wax paper does not stick and the tray gets warm enough to melt the crayons but not hot enough to burn the child. It’s an old Bev Bos activity. You can find the warming trays in second hand shops.
I have some glass pains from old picture frames that I have been holding onto for craft projects. I wonder if I could heat them up a little and draw on them with crayon and re-frame? I love sun catchers and have been looking for ideas on how to make your own, so thank you very much for posting this.
i have been painting birthday wishes and themes on our windows for several yrs and sometimes the grandkids just do it for fun. we use tempura paint. easy on and easy off. i think we will try the stained glass soon.
would baby oil work, too? love the effect!
Hi, could it work if you drew the picture first and then heated the baking paper? That would solve the problem of hot baking paper and children etc.