Melted crayon ornaments

These melted crayon ornaments are such a fun DIY Christmas ornament craft for kids to do during the holidays! They turn out really cute (and don’t take a lot of effort). All you need is some crayon wax from leftover crayon ends and a glass ornament! Here’s how to make your own melted crayon ornaments.

It’s also one of the 14 adorable Christmas crafts for kids that we’ve made lately!

Supplies for melted crayon ornaments

These homemade ornaments are such a fun play on crayon art… And a great way to use up small pieces of crayons that you can’t color with anymore!

Here are the supplies you’ll need to make these melted crayon ornaments:

• Old or broken crayons
• Cheese grater
• Clear plastic ornaments
• Hair dryer (or another crayon melter)
• Empty box or container

Gather your supplies together before starting this melted crayon ornament craft. Full supervision is a must for the duration of this activity! Also, be sure to read the instructions on the materials and equipment you choose and follow them. Some items aren’t approved for certain age groups.

If you’re getting together with a group of moms, go ahead and use clear glass ornaments. You could even try those fancy hair-drying heat-protective gloves to let you have a little more control over the melting process. Glass melted crayon ornaments are lovely (and slightly more elegant… As far as crayon decor is concerned). With smaller ones, however, plastic and not-too-hot temperatures are probably safer!

How to make melted crayon ornaments

Here are the instructions for the melted crayon ornament kids craft:

1. Peel off the paper labels so that each crayon is bare. If the paper is really stubborn, try soaking the crayons for a bit (but this is generally not necessary).
2. Have an adult use a cheese grater to create wax shavings from the crayons. We did this step in advance, as we were doing the craft with toddlers and did not want the cheese grater in the same room!
3. Take the top off each clear plastic ornament. Most ornament tops come out with a gentle tug (they are kind of spring-fitted with a thin wire bracket – see photos below).
4. Fill each ornament with crayon shavings. Mix up lots of different colors or stick to a holiday or monochrome palette. A teaspoon of crayon shavings is really all you need to get little spots of color. An ornament filled with more like a tablespoon will have more consistent pigment in the finished product.
5. Replace the top of the ornament.
6. Place the ornament in the empty box.
7. Have and adult use a hair dryer to melt the crayon shavings. Crayons melt at about 120 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius), which is within the medium heat range of many hair dryers. Don’t put your hands in front of the hot air outflow – just let the box hold the ornament in. The ornament will jump around which can be great fun to watch (from a safe distance).
   1. Check the hairdryer to ensure it has a safety temperature regulator (most hair dryers won’t go over 140 degrees).
   2. You can get thermal skin burns even at temperatures below 120 degrees, depending on how long skin is exposed. Don’t put your hands in front of the hair dryer!
   3. There are specific electric “crayon melter” toys on the market that might be useful if your kids are too young to be around a hair dryer.

That’s how we made melted crayon ornaments! It was a very fun project for all of us and the resulting decorations turned out lovely too – Just look at how gorgeous they are!

Also – We’ve been crafting up a storm this month! Here are some other crafts we’ve made:

• Pom pom star ornaments
• Piñata tree ornaments
• Clay ornaments
• Felt Christmas trees with buttons
• Pipe cleaner bead ornaments
• Pom pom ball ornaments
• Snowman ornaments
• Paint drip ornaments
• Tiny toboggan ornaments
• Alphabet block ornaments
• Pom pom pinecone ornament
• Reindeer ornament