DIY: Wax Paper and Crayon Fall Leaves

V and Co.'s Crayon Wax Leaves are wonderful.  They make the perfect window accessory and we can even see a wreath being made with these wonders!

these leaves were made just like you used to make those stain glass windows with wax paper and crayon shavings.

you can hang them, you can place them prettily to dress up any surface, and well you can just place them on your windows as well.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

*wax paper.
*scissors
*iron
*towels (so that you don't ruin your ironing board)
*paper towels (so you don't ruin your iron)



*fall colored crayons that have seen better days

*leaf template (right click hit save as and then print off. make sure you make them fit your picture screen so it doesn't cut off any of the leaf. i made mine as a 4 by 7 picture)


cut out wax paper approx letter paper size. with scissors start shaving your crayon onto the wax paper. not too much we want it to be a pretty thin layer of crayon melt.
i mixed two colors:
*brown and orange
*yellow and magenta
*orange and yellow
my favorite ones turned out to be the yellow and magenta ones.

when you have your two colors shaved on, place the second piece of wax paper on top making a sandwich.

with an iron set on a warm setting, place a towel first down onto your ironing board. then your wax paper and crayon sandwich. then place a paper towel in between your iron and the wax paper sandwich.

slowly melt your crayon shavings. and push the "liquid crayon" around so it's thin and covers a larger area. (be careful of spilling the wax! don't push it too far out or it will seep out the corners of your wax paper sandwich!)
once they are cool take your print out leaf, and your wax paper creation.
place underneath, it should be clear enough for you to be able to see your lines.
with a pencil trace your leaves.

cut out your leaves.


admire your pretty leaves, that surprisingly are making you feel a little better about fall coming.
now if you would like to hang them, i just got a needle and thread and made a big knot at the end of my thread. i hung them in front of our window, i hung them above our dinging room table, but in the end they ended up taped up...

enjoy!

DIY: Crayon Candles in Bottlecaps

We are forever questing to find bottlecap crafts that are easy and look good!  We love to knokw that we can upcycle these bad boys and make it look like we spent hours, when we only spent minutes.  

Craftaholics Anonymous has come to our aid with their DIY for turning old crayons and bottlecaps into mini candles!

these tiny candles are a really fun to make and come together quickly. AND you can up-cycle several materials in the process.

To make these colorful tiny candles, I used several materials that usually end up in a land fill: bottle caps, broken crayons, and empty soup cans. the only thing i bought to make them was the pre-waxed wicks which cost me $1.50 for a set of 12.

How to Make Bottle Cap Candles
supplies: bottle caps, crayons {or wax}, pre-waxed wicks, soup cans, wax paper {optional}, small cooking pan, scissors, and water

remove paper from crayons. you can also use candle wax if you wanted.

put crayons in clean, empty soup cans.

take your pre-waxed wicks and…

bottle caps

put wicks inside the bottle caps. i placed my bottle caps on wax paper in case i spilled some wax.

then using a small cooking pan filled with a couple inches of boiling water, place the can in the pan and melt the crayons. {you could also use a candle warmer to do this}the crayons melt pretty quickly. *note: it only takes a few crayons to fill a bottle cap!

pour the melted crayons or wax into the bottle caps.

let cool for 1-2 hours. then trim the wicks and you have some fun tea light candles to enjoy!

**added later: crayon wax does not smell that great when burned. if you plan to burn these candles, you may consider adding a scent to them**

DIY: Muffin Tin Crayons

This tutorial from Kaboose's blog couldn't be easier, more fun, or cheaper!  Three things that we just love in any craft.  

What you'll need:

• Cupcake/muffin tin
• Non-toxic broken crayons
• Vegetable oil
• toothpick

How to make it:

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
2. Remove all the paper labels from crayon pieces. (Please check to make sure they are non-toxic crayons.)
3. Put ¼ teaspoon of vegetable oil into each muffin pan cup, no cup liners needed.
4. You will use the equivalent of 4 new crayons for each cup. Place broken crayons (no longer than an inch each) into the muffin pan. This will fill the cup about 1/3 full.
5. Place into the preheated oven and watch carefully, they melt quickly!
6. Bake crayons for 8 minutes or so.
7. When the crayons begin to melt, remove them from the oven and stir gently with a toothpick.
8. Crayon will look “ugly” and the colors may appear blended too much. Don’t worry! They look much better on the other side.
9. Let the crayons cool completely.
10. Once cooled, pop the crayons out of the muffin pan by tapping on the backside of the pan. Crayons should fall right out.

 

Tips:

• If you have any new crayons available, use one as a measuring stick. Lay broken crayon pieces along side of the new crayon to measure out 4 full sized crayons. This is how many you will need for each completed chunky crayon.
• Be sure to use extreme caution around kitchen utensils and the oven. Always use oven mitts and do not stick you fingers into the melted crayons.
• If you don’t have any broken crayon pieces, you can buy a large box of cheap crayons at the Dollar Store.