I did this craft ALL the time when I was a kid. Even when I was not supposed to. It involves an iron and crayon shavings, and you can bet your ____ my mom was not too happy with crayon wax all over her iron! This is a fun, easy craft where my 4-year-old can do a lot and the 2-year-old tasmanian tot can do a little (despite his “I DO IT! I DO IT!” tyrants) It’s also one of those crafts that can be adapted for anything, any holiday, birthday cards…bookmarks….whatever.
So- here is what you need:
Scissors (not pictured)
Wax Paper
Construction Paper
Crayon shavings and small pieces
Iron
Glue
Ribbon, string to fasten & hang in the sunshine
I like to prep my crafts ahead of time. I learned the hard way that SC would lose interest before we even got going on a project. Here, I cut out my hearts and shaved my crayons (please don’t tell the Fisherman I used one of his Heinkle knifes to shave crayons. He will not be pleased) There will be a front and a back heart, so you will need two the same size, but they can all vary in size.
Tear a big enough piece of wax paper to fit snuggly inside your hearts. You’ll have to end up cutting, so its ok. Fold in half to give the paper a bit of division. Let your kiddos sprinkle the crayon confetti all over one side of the wax paper, like so…
Fold the top half of the paper over to cover the shavings, like so….
ADULTS use the iron on low heat and iron on top of the wax paper. You can even put a paper towel in between if you are worried about messing up your iron. I have a strict rule about ironing: I don’t. My iron is only for craft purposes.
Let the kids see how the wax melts. Make it into a science lesson if you are a nerd. I am. SC was pretty excited to see the colors blend, wax melt and explain why it melts. SJ was probably snacking on crayon confetti at this point. Or playing with scissors.
Glue your heart fronts and backs on the wax paper and cut off the excess.
Go to the beach down the street while the glue dries to wear your kids out in hopes they will take a good nap.
Fasten and hang however you please. I glued ribbon between the three then hung with embroidery floss from random nail in ceiling beam.
And make sure you have some sun to catch – Not hard to do on a day like today!
Freaky Martha Footnote: this post was drafted on Jan 23. My friend Martha (Stewart) sent me an email the next day on how to make Crayon Heart Sun Catchers. I am not kidding. And they, of course are beautiful.
February 9, 2011 at 4:37 pm
I remember doing these as a kid too. I also remember ruining my last iron, that hubby uses to iron clothes with doing this with Aislin… needless to say I will ruining another iron this weekend making these with both kids now
Great post and wonderful inspiration 
February 15, 2011 at 3:59 am
I followed your link from Martha’s website. I’m obviously a dork because I somehow missed where it does NOT tell you to remove the wax. I thought how do you cut out hearts with out the wax just breaking apart? But when you look at marthas picture…they could very well just be wax! (I’m sure she had a fabulous team of crafters to make sure they looked just perfect!) After looking at your post I realized that you LEAVE the wax paper on. Too bad I figured that out AFTER we just threw away all our melted falling apart wax. LOL…it’s all good. My kids had fun trying to peel and shave all the crayons and watching it melt! We’ll just have to it again another day…the right way!
February 15, 2011 at 10:11 am
HOW FUNNY! You know, “she” has ahabit of leaving out important steps in her craft tuits, I have noticed. Glad I was able to ebat out Martha in this one. Thankfully, these can be adapted for anything…and just for the fun of it!
February 23, 2011 at 2:42 pm
Definitely bookmarking this one for when LE is old enough! Great craft!
July 7, 2011 at 2:59 am
thank you for posting a step-by-step picture tutorial of this! on the martha stewart post they leave out the important part of leaving the wax paper on
July 7, 2011 at 9:37 am
Isn’t that weird ? That is sooooo not like Martha
Have fun!
October 27, 2011 at 12:34 pm
These are so pretty – I have someone who’ll enjoy eating wax shavings in the intervals too
October 27, 2011 at 4:28 pm
And very easy to make for ANY holiday! Have Fun!
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January 20, 2012 at 5:43 pm
exactly what I was looking for… will be doing this fun craft today with my little girl and her friends, play date at our house today! thanks for sharing! and i’m so happy to have come across your blog
January 20, 2012 at 11:44 pm
tip: I layed a paper towel over my top layer of wax paper before ironing… helped catch any bleed through’s and was easier to iron over instead of the wax paper. And I didn’t have sewing mat, so we just used a cutting board. We taped them on our window because we ran out of time to add the hanging string… they turned out so darn cute!
January 21, 2012 at 10:19 am
@ Danyell: The paper towel tip is a good trick. I don’t use my iron to iron clothes on a daily basis. mostly for craft purposes. I was reminded of the the other day when I ironed some fabric for a babybib sewing project, and noticed the brown, waxy smudges that come off on my beautiful girly fabric. Hmph! Should of used a paper towel!! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your tip. xo bfm
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September 26, 2012 at 6:40 pm
I don’t know why people are dishing Martha. She never said to peel the wax paper off. You guys just made that part up. Love the Idea of book marks. Great Idea for young elementary kids. They are so proud when they know we use their gifts. Thanks for sharing.
January 17, 2013 at 3:33 pm
When ever I do projects like this with my kids, I put lots of newspaper down wherever we are doing the project. Plus we will also put a sheet of newspaper or paper towel over the top that way you are not ruining your ironing board/work surface or your iron.
January 18, 2013 at 1:40 pm
Great suggestion Karissa. SC recieved a pottery wheel for xmas and that was the FIRST piece of advice and expereinced mom of a kid with a wheel suggested. I love how being a parent makes our problem solving skills better. I need to wash SC’s favorite stuffed penguin, Peggy, this morning, but she doesn’t like her plasit eyes to get scratched up in the washer. So I put a sock over her head. It was a bit wierd, but solved the problem! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. xoxo bfm
February 4, 2013 at 8:34 pm
When you’re ready to iron the wax paper with the crayon shavings between the layers, be sure to put the wax paper between layers of kraft paper to keep your iron from getting wax on it or sticking to your ironing board cover (using paper grocery bags that have been cut out to lay flat works good). No use ruining a good iron when it’s easy to avoid.
February 7, 2013 at 11:09 am
You’re some kind of genius! And your children are wonderful! Thanks for the great idea, keep it up … We are inspired!
A hug from Italy.
Giovanna
February 12, 2013 at 12:25 pm
Tanks for the suggestion Judi!