FUN AND EASY CRAYON CRAFTS

If you live in a home with anyone under the age of nine, we’re willing to bet you have a ice cream tub of broken crayons lying around. The urge to toss the little stubs of annoying wax may be overwhelming but there is heaps of fun to be had by using them to create a rainbow of crafts with your children.

---

DRIPPING CRAYON CANVAS
Is your little one a potential Picasso? Find out with this easy art project!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
A canvas or cardboard
Old crayons with the paper removed
Double-sided tape
Paper
Hairdryer
Glue stick

INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1: Print or draw two copies of the picture you want and cut it out.
Step 2: Remove the labels from all the crayons.
Step 3: Using double-sided tape, stick the crayons along the top of your canvas or cardboard.
Step 4: Stick your picture from step 1 on the canvas, you can use the glue stick for this. Don’t stick it on completely as you will be removing it in step 6.
Step 5: Now it’s time for the most exciting part – melting the crayons! Put your hairdryer on the highest setting and hold it above the crayons, aiming the nozzle downwards. Heat the crayons until the wax starts to drip. Hold the hairdryer in a different angle to change the direction of the dripping patterns. Don’t worry about messing on your picture – you’re going to remove it in the next step!
Step 6: Once you’re happy with the patterns, remove the picture and stick the clean one over the space where it was.
Step 7: Find a spot to hang it in your home. That’s it!



CRAYON LIP GLOSS
Pink, green, blue or purple ­­– you can have it all with this easy lip gloss project!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
Small plastic containers
2 tsp of coconut oil
Old non-toxic crayons with the paper removed
A pan
A little glass bowl

INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1: Choose the colours you want and chop them up into tiny pieces to make it easy to melt.
Step 2: Place the chopped crayons in the little glass bowl along with the 2tsp of coconut oil.
Step 3: Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan, then place the little glass bowl in the middle of it.
Step 4: Place on the stove and set it to medium heat. As the water heats up, the crayons will start to melt with the coconut oil.
Step 5: Swirl it around with a toothpick to mix it all together.
Step 6: Once it’s melted, switch the stove off and remove the glass bowl from the saucepan carefully using oven mitts. Pour the mixture into the plastic containers.
Step 7: Stick it into the freezer for 2 minutes – this will help the mixture to set.



RECYCLED CHUNKY CRAYONS
Instead of throwing away your old crayons, why not melt them all together to create a super crazy-coloured crayon? What is that? Read on to find out.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
Old crayons with the paper removed
Metal muffin tin
Cooking spray

INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1: Break or chop the crayons into smaller pieces.
Step 2: Spray the muffin tin with cooking spray and add the crayons. You can mix and match colours and sizes, depending on how big you want the crayons to be at the end.
Step 3: Place the muffin tin full of crayons into a preheated oven of 140°C and bake for 7 – 8 minutes.
Step 4: Once it has cooled down, you can pop the crayons out of the muffin tin. Let the colouring begin!



WAX PAPER LANTERNS
Here is a fun alternative to a night light. Bedtime just got more fun!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
Wax Paper
Crayons with the paper removed
Craft Sticks
Iron
Newspaper
LED tea light
Scissors or cheese grater
Craft glue

INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1: Using the wax paper, cut four rectangles of 15cm x 30cm.
Step 2: Create crayon shavings with a pair of scissors or a cheese grater. You can mix colours or keep it neutral.
Step 3: Place the shavings on the one side of each paper, then fold the wax paper over with the shavings inside.
Step 4: Cover the folded wax paper with newspaper. With your iron on medium heat, run it over the newspaper to melt the shavings and seal the wax paper.
Step 5: Lay the craft sticks out in a square and glue the edges together.
Step 6: To put the lantern together, apply glue to one side of each frame and stick together to form a cube.
Step 7: Place the light inside the cube and enjoy the pretty patterns!