Crafty Friday: Crayon Stained Glass

That old saying, “there’s nothing new under the sun” can apply to this Crafty Friday Project. The easy to make “stained glass” window hangings have graced Kindergarten classrooms for decades. But even with its prevalence, some people (like me) have never attempted to make these simple, yet beautiful creations.

Here’s what you need:

-old crayons

-wax paper

-an iron

-cheese grater, pencil sharpener, or butter knife

-scissors

-string/ribbon/yarn

-hole punch

-glitter (optional)

Step 1. Cut two squares of wax paper (approximately 6x6”) for each stained glass window. For two kids each making two window hangings, I cut eight squares of wax paper.

Step 2. Start shaving those crayons. We started off using a pencil sharpener, but found this step to go much quicker if we used a butter knife to make the shavings.

Step 3. Start sprinkling the shavings onto one square of wax paper. You can add a little glitter for sparkle. At first, being newbies to this project, we piled up the shavings, mixed all the colors, and tried to make specific shapes before the heating process. We quickly found out that this doesn’t work so well once you get to step 4. A small amount of shavings and a limited color palette produced the best stained glass results.

Step 4. Place the other square of wax paper on top of the first, sandwiching the shavings in between. (Check out that pinky finger action.)

Then use your hot iron to melt the shavings and fuse the two pieces of wax paper together. You might want to place a large piece of paper or an old towel under the wax paper because the melted crayon goo has a tendency to seep out the edges. Once the crayon shavings are all melted, set the piece aside to cool and harden. This takes less than a minute.

Step 5. Once your stained glass pieces are cooled, take your scissors and cut into desired shapes.

Step 6. Punch a hole through the top of each shape, tie a piece of ribbon through the hole, and hang in the window. We tied our pieces to the blinds, but you can tie them to a hanger or a dowel rod before placing them in the window.

Enjoy watching the light illuminate the colors of your stained glass pieces. It really is quite stunning!

Oh, and if you’re wondering what to do with your post shaving crayons, make crayon cupcakes. Step by step instructions can be found here.

Happy crafting!

Nessa Dee