Create Ironed Wax Paper!

based on 17 ratings

See in slideshow:

If your preschooler likes to color, you probably know all too well that crayons go quickly, and chances are, you're left with old crayon stubs. Put those crayon stubs to use by creating colorful ironed wax paper! All you need is an iron, crayons, and wax paper to start. Your child will be using her old supplies to create a fun, new masterpiece to hang and brighten up the house with. And working with the various colors will also help your child identify colors and develop her pattern-making skills.

Note: This project should be supervised by an adult at all times.

What You Need:

Old pieces of crayons, peeled
Old cheese grater
Wax paper cut into 8" x 10" (20 cm x 25 cm) pieces
Newspaper
Old iron, set on warm
Scissors
Optional: Yarn

What You Do:

Lay down a thick pad of newspaper to work on.
Place one sheet of wax paper on the newspaper.
Have your child grate crayons onto the sheet of wax paper. She can choose whatever colors to make whatever patterns she wants.
Let her cover the crayon shavings and wax paper with a second sheet of wax paper.
Cover the layered wax paper and crayon shavings with another sheet of newspaper.
Run the iron over the newspaper to melt the crayon shavings beneath and to "glue" wax paper pieces together. You may want to handle the iron, but with careful supervision, your child can also do the ironing. Sometimes pressing straight down with the iron and then lifting it straight up instead of rubbing it back and forth will create different designs in the melted crayon. Feel free to experiment!
Safety Tip: Be sure to tape the iron cord in place so artists in the room don't trip over it.
Remove the top newspaper. Trim the excess edges of the wax paper with scissors. Glue a piece of yam to the project if the artist wishes to hang the design in a window.