Craft: Melted Crayon Art, Bridging Gifts

This spring, our Brownies will bridge to Junior Girl Scouts, and our Juniors will bridge to Cadettes.  The girls voted not to include a ceremony or skit in the celebration, and they did not want to invite their families to join us.  But we are doing something special to mark the occasion--I don't want to announce our plans just yet.  In the past, I have put together small Bridging gifts for our girls to mark our time together.  When our Daisies bridged to Brownies, I gave them a wooden plaque.  When the Brownies bridged to Juniors, I decorated and filled a Fry Box for the occasion.  With our Bridging event scheduled this month, I spent some time brainstorming and remembered a melted crayon art project I made last year.  Finding this project to be quick and easy, I thought I'd share my method here.

This 3-pack of canvas panels can be found at Walmart for $2.77.  Over the years, I have accumulated many supplies and I often struggle to close my craft closet door.  This project requires crayons and a heat gun. Since these items are stored in said closet, I only had to purchase the canvas panels.  This craft cost less than $1.50 each, including the personalized gift bag.

Lightly sketch the initial in the bottom right corner of the canvas.  The use of a stencil or a Cricut may be helpful for those who may not wish to freehand.

Paint the letter.  I applied three coats to achieve the desired coverage.  Outline the letter with a black Sharpie.  Of course, a paint pen or brush and paint would work as well.  I prefer to use a permanent marker.

Choose the crayons you wish to use and arrange them as you so desire.  I found some six-inch tongue depressors in the craft closet.  Using a hot glue gun, I glued a 1/2" tip of one tongue depressor to the end of the other.  Glue the crayons to the wood.  Having this handle allowed me to hold the crayons easily while reducing the risk of burning my hand.

Cover your work area.  Apply painter's tape to protect the painted initial.  Prop the canvas up so the melted wax will drip.  Try not to allow the wax to flow onto the painter's tape by tipping the canvas horizontally.  My daughters helped with this part of the project.

 

NOTE:  The "e" canvas was created using the steps detailed above.  For the "B" canvas, I still covered the lower right hand corner with painter's tape, but I melted the crayons before painting the letter in the available space.  I think this latter method created a better finished product.  Please note I share two of the best panels here.

Using a black Sharpie, I wrote "Your true colors are beautiful like a rainbow" on the back of each canvas.  Below the quote I listed our troop number and the year.

I popped the canvas into a personalized gift bag.  My husband has coached our daughters' t-ball, softball, and basketball teams.  At the end of the season, he writes an encouraging note to each of his players.  Following his lead, I will write a note to each girl and slide it into the bag before heading out to our Bridging event.  I hope you'll check back with us soon.  Thank you for reading!