Love and Laundry

diy, crafts, recipes

Teacher Appreciation Melted Crayon Art

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I know Teacher Appreciation was last week, but we like to give our teachers an end of the year present. I usually don’t even let my kids take the gift until the very last day of school. It’s been fun brainstorming a gift this year. There is so much inspiration everywhere! I love all of the melted crayon art that pops up all over Pinterest. We wanted to do something a little more personal, so we made personalized Melted Crayon Art.

teacher appreciation melted crayon art

To make this, you need  a flat 11×17 canvas (I got them at Michael’s for something like $9.00 for a 5 pack) and a box of 64 crayons  (I got both Crayola and Cra-Z-Art – I wanted to see the difference).


First, line up your crayons how you want them to be on the canvas. I was going for a rainbow color blocking look.
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After they are all lined up, get your glue gun ready!
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I tried to put enough hot glue on the canvas to glue down 6 or 7 at a time. Pretty easy!
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I was surprised at the difference in color range between Cra-Z-Art and Crayola. I think overall they are both good crayons, but I didn’t realize the colors were so different.
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After they are all glued on, you need to melt the crayon. I’ve heard that you can do this with a blow dryer.  I happen to own a heat gun which gets way hotter than a blow dryer, so I used that. I love my heat gun! I found it at Harbor Freight for around $10 and it’s been worth every penny. There are so many uses (melting the end of ribbon so it won’t fray, shrink wrapping, melting crayon).
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The heat gun melts it so fast. It took my less than 10 minutes to melt all of the crayons. I love the pretty crayon pool at the bottom.
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After the crayon cooled off and hardened, I added each of the teacher’s names in vinyl on top of the crayon.
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The difference in the crayon brands went way beyond color. The Crayola melted a little bit slower and thickened up sooner resulting in a more uniform look. The Cra-Z-Art has a more runny look but the colors are more vibrant.  I really love them both!
Personalized Melted Crayon Art
Personalized Melted Crayon Art

These were so easy (and inexpensive) to make. I think both of my kid’s teachers will love them!

Comments

  1. BrittanyLane says

    Those look so awesome! I’ve seen a few of those crayon melting crafts, but this is by far the best use for them. You are so on the ball. I haven’t even thought about end of the year gifts yet. Love it!

  2. Kate says

    ooo I’ve been wanting to try this since I saw it on Pinterest! Love how you added the names… great idea :)

    • Jill says

      Thanks for sharing at the Pomp Party! Pinning to our Pomp Party board!

      Jill @ Create.Craft.Love.

  5. Amanda says

    These both look great, interesting to see the difference between both sets of crayons, never thought about it before!

  9. Pamela says

    THIS is so neat!!

    thanks for stopping by my blog – I will be following you as well!

  10. Melissa says

    Cute! As a teacher I prefer these kinds of gifts to, say, 25 bottles of lotion :)

  12. Is says

    Hi Shatzi! Stopping by from THe DIY Dreamer link party. Your canvases turned out great! I’m sure that Mrs. Wilson and Ms. Dawson will love them!
    Greetings from Spain

  14. Amber Epperson says

    Thanks for linking up! I have seen this on pinterest and it is awesome you did it! Thanks for linking up today.

  15. weiya @ enjoyer of grace says

    Hi Shatzi! Thanks so much for sharing this and following me on GFC! I use to teach actually and would’ve loved this as a gift! Such a great idea!

  16. The House at Bluebird Lane says

    Super cute teacher’s gift! Yours turned out so good! Looks like it was a lot of fun to make them. Visiting you from Crafty Texas Girls, and am happy to be now following. :-) Have a wonderful night!
    Sharla

  18. Carrie @ My Favorite Finds says

    These are really cool! My sister in law made one for an art project in high school, and it turned out great! Thanks for sharing at our Handmade Tuesdays party.

  20. Lauren says

    I love this! I have been wanting to try this craft. Love how you personalized it!

    I’d love it if you’d link up with me at Off the Hook!

  23. Becolorful says

    Such a fun and timely application for this crafty technique. Thanks for sharing it on this week’s Motivated Monday at BeColorful
    pam

  24. Maria says

    Ohhhh this is sooo cute!!!! Love the crayon idea, and love how colorful it is!!!!

  26. Hani@Craftionary says

    This is so cool.. I have been wanting to try this for a while now, it looks like a fun project. :) Can also be an awesome gift for Dad.

  28. Katie Goldsworthy says

    You win the “coolest teacher gift” award from me! This turned out awesome!

    Thanks for sharing!
    –Katie
    @ Creatively Living

  31. Melissa says

    Love this! What a great idea for a teacher gift. My best friend {who is a teacher} would love this. Thanks for linking up to our party.

    Hope you had a wonderful weekend.

    {Hugs}

  32. Alyssa says

    This is a great idea for a teacher gift. I can really notice the difference between the two brands of crayons, but they both turned out beautiful! Thanks for sharing at Showcase Your Talent Thursday!

  34. parker people says

    I love this – so much that I intend to make one for my classroom next year . Thank you so much !
    Pat E.

  38. Amy Graham says

    Super cool! I want to try this, but I probably will cut the paper horizontally right under the crayons, so just the wax drips show. Oh, and I like the puddle at the bottom too!