DIY Crayon Wax Decorated Holiday Ornaments

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When I was growing up, every holiday season my mom would come up with fun holiday themed crafts for my sister and I to do. It was a tradition in our family - one to which I looked forward for months. We made everything from DIY wrapping paper printed with stamps made from potatoes to homemade gifts for extended family. But my favorite holiday craft was making our own ornaments. Sometimes they were made from construction paper and string. Other times they were more complicated and involved homemade dough, cookie cutters, baking and painting. They never looked very pretty, but they were perfect. Many of them, in fact, hang proudly on our Christmas tree.

Last year, I decided to start an ornament making tradition of our own, and Essley and I made ornaments out of cardboard, paint, and string. She was so filled with joy during every step of the process, and it was one of the first things she asked to do this holiday season. I couldn't wait either.

I had to run to the grocery store on Black Friday, and while browsing the toy section, saw the coolest new item in the crafts aisle called the Crayola Crayon Melter. Using it, kids (and adults!) can safely melt Crayola crayons and use the liquefied wax to create art on all sorts of surfaces, including canvas, wood, ceramics, and glass. I immediately knew it would be perfect for Essley and I to create some truly unique ornaments together. And I thought I'd share the process with you today, in case you'd like to create some fun crayon wax art holiday ornaments of your own!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

The Crayola Crayon Melter 
Crayola Crayons (8 come in the Crayon Melter box, and we had some old ones as well.)
Globe ornaments (Can be any type of blank ornament. We used plastic but are trying wood next!)


DIRECTIONS

1. Plug in the Crayon Melter.
2. Remove paper wrappers from crayons with the wrapper ripper (included in the kit).
3. Break full crayons into 3 pieces.
4. Insert 1 crayon piece into Crayon Melter and wait for the light to turn green.
5. Use the practice sheets from Crayon Melter kit to practice making art.
6. Create! Use the crayon melter to doodle directly onto the ornaments to make fun textured designs.

The great thing about the Crayon Melter is that even though we've had so much fun making holiday ornaments with it, it can be used all year round for other craft projects too. And because we (like most houses with young kids) pretty much always have old crayons sitting around (you can use unwrapped Crayola regular, neon, metallic, or washable crayon pieces), it's something we can do anytime. The fact that it's an eco-conscious way to reuse old crayons is a major bonus. The compact design is a nice feature too, and it's safe, with a low-heat tip so your kids can get creative without worry. Oh, and the Crayola Crayon Melter has been named one of the Best Toys of 2018 by Parents magazine, is a winner of both the 2018 National Parenting Product Awards and the 2018 Play that Advances Language Awards. No big deal.

Essley and I had so much fun creating these (even Emmett got in on the action after his nap with some help from mom and dad), and both kids were thrilled to hang them on the tree and wrap some up as gifts for the grandparents. They were also both smitten with the cool textures it created - so different than just painting or drawing. Working on the project together, with holiday music playing in the background and Christmas cookies in the oven, created such a genuine emotional response in me. I kept thinking back to my own childhood and feeling so grateful to have experiences like these with my own little ones. I look forward to continuing to make holiday ornaments together every year.

Anyone else have the Crayola Crayon Melter yet? If not, go get one (they're just $24.99 at Crayola.com and retailers nationwide) and you can thank me later! Then, I challenge you to create some crayon wax decorated holiday ornaments or art of your own. Make sure to share them on social media with the tag #CrayonMelter so I can see them! Happy holidays!

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