Melted Crayon Art ~ Summer Bucket List 2014

Right towards the end of the school year, I came up with a summer bucket list of fun things I wanted to do when I wasn't working or driving to musical practice. One of the things I have wanted to do for awhile is make a melted crayon art piece, and that was the first thing I am able to cross off of my summer bucket list. I took lots of photos to document my process!

I knew right away that I wanted to do something with a stencil, so my first step was to find that stencil. Since music is pretty much my life, I decided that the most obvious stencil for me to use would be music notes. I made it as big as I wanted it then printed it out.

I bought my canvases at Hobby Lobby, but you can get them at any craft store or Walmart. I put my stencil in the back of my canvas and taped it down once I got it placed where I wanted it. It's necessary to have a light shining through the back of the canvas so it is easy to trace your stencil. I traced with pencil, making sure to press a little firmer so the lines were very visible!

 

After tracing my stencil with pencil (hey, I'm a poet!) I traced the outline with a regular Sharpie so I would see it more clearly when coloring with my paint marker. I got my paint marker in the craft section of Walmart. They come in several colors besides black so you could use any color you desire for your art. I followed the directions on the package for getting the paint to flow in the marker, but after that process was done, I simply "colored" with it like you would a regular marker.

After the "paint" was dry, the next step in the process was to glue the crayons down. I decided to glue them down in rainbow order with the brand of the crayon facing up. A little bit of hot glue on the back and a slightly firm press on the canvas will do the trick!

The next part of the process was covering the music notes. I didn't REALLY want any melted crayon on the music notes, so I covered the stencil in blue painter's tape. I read on Pinterest that this was the best way to make sure that your stencil wouldn't get any crayon on it.

Per my mother's request, I set up my melting station on the front step. I placed my canvas in a 97 cent plastic paint tray (also from the wonderful Walmart) to catch the flying drips of melting crayon. Then I went to work. I used the highest setting on my hair dryer and just moved it over the crayons (I first aimed at the "Roseart" to get the crayons melting, then aimed more towards the tips as they began to drip.) As the drips are falling, you can sort of "chase them" with your hair dryer to get them to move the opposite direction or further down the canvas. I ran into a problem with my painter's tape covering the stencil. The heat from the hair dryer caused the tape to curl. I honestly have no idea how old this tape was (I found it in my basement) so I wasn't too surprised when it didn't work. Instead of freaking out, I just decided that I kind of liked the wax running down over the music notes, so I peeled the tape off and melted some more wax down on the stencil!

This was my finished project. Total time was only about 2 hours! I used cheaper crayons that were really runny, so when I make my second one I will probably use better quality crayons so the wax doesn't look as runny!

I think the art work makes a nice edition to my "album wall." It draws attention to the kick-ass albums that are covering the wall above it!












So, I have one thing off my bucket list down, only about 20 more to go. Bring it on!
Stay classy folks, and thanks for reading!