mile marker 515

Fun Fall Art Project

This morning after we took the kids to school, Parker, Connor and I were eating breakfast.  Parker asked me, "So what art project are we doing today mom?"  I had to think fast and remembered a fun fall leaf project that I've done before with some of my other kids.  I told Parker the game plan and he was so excited.  I told him that we'd have to wait until Connor took his nap though because I knew he'd be a little too helpful:)  All morning, Parker was asking me if it was Connor's nap time yet.  Finally the nap came and the art project started.  First we gathered some broken fall colored crayons and peeled off the wrappers.

It took a while to peel all of them, but Parker had fun doing it.  I loved watching the look of pure concentration on his face!  With the help of his favorite mommy, they finally all got peeled. 

Next, we got some wax paper and drew leaf outlines on it.  I was going to free hand the leaves but apparently I way over estimated my leaf drawing abilities.  I kept ending up with Christmas trees.  I admitted defeat and turned to the internet for some help.  If your artistic abilities are as amazing as mine you can find some basic leaf outlines here.  I traced them onto the wax paper.  I decided to cut a couple of them out first but most of them I did not cut out.  As it turns out, it is much easier and turns out way better if you do not cut the leaf outlines first.  When you draw the leaves on the wax paper, you'll want to use a black permanent marker so that it will still show up when it's time to cut them out. 

Good idea:

Bad idea:

Parker was very excited about this next step.  Before you get into it though, you'll want to lay down some newspaper or something.  I couldn't find a single newspaper around the house so I used some freezer paper.  Things are going to get kind of messy, so be prepared:)  We got out some cheese graters and grated up our naked crayons onto the wax paper.  FYI, the finer grater seems to work better.  You really have to be careful with this part though because it's easy to grate little fingers.  I only gave Parker long crayons and I did the shorter ones myself.  We managed to get by without any casualties.  While you're making the crayon shavings, you'll want to plug in your iron.  You'll need it in a minute.

The crayon shavings will be all over.  Make sure there are plenty on the leaf outlines you drew.  When you're all done it looks so pretty!  Like a little fall party on your paper!

Next, put another piece of wax paper over the top of your crayon shavings.

Now it's time to use the iron to make some magic!  Iron directly on the top layer of the wax paper.  I just pressed it down on the wax paper long enough to melt the crayon.  It happens really fast.  Make sure they melt down, but the less time you leave it on the cooler it looks in the end. 

I loved watching Parker's face.  First the anticipation,

then the magic!

(Yes, I was taking pictures of him while I was ironing.  Be very impressed:)  When the crayons are melted you'll want to let it cool for minute.  As a side note, make sure you don't have any crayon on your iron before you turn it off.  Melted crayon on your husbands white shirt may not go over well.  I just rubbed it around on an old dish towel to rub any melted crayon off.  After it cools, you can cut out the leaves.  This is when you want to make sure you can really see the leaf outlines.

When they're all cut out you'll have yourself some neat looking fall leaves!

After trying to figure out what to do with them, we decided to hang them from a string in front of the window.  I love the way they look with the light shining through them.  It really makes the colors stand out.  Now I only wish we had made more of them.  Maybe another day:)