We made suncatchers with crayon shavings earlier this week. Out of all the suncatchers we make, these are my favorite. We've made them a few times, both with the art group and by ourselves. And I remember making them as a child as well.
If you haven't tried them, here's the how-to: They are so easy! 1.) Grate crayons on a cheese grater. Maia likes to separate the colors into different small bowls. 2.) Set a sheet of wax paper on the table. I fold it over ahead of time, then unfold it. 3.) Instruct your child to sprinkle the crayon shavings on one side of the wax paper. 4.) Fold over. 5.) Set the wax paper/crayon shavings sandwich in between pieces of newsprint or other paper. 6.) Iron on low until the crayon melts. 7.) Hang in the window.
With Maia, I do the grating and the ironing, she does the sorting and the sprinkling/arranging. An older child could do the entire process themselves, of course.
I wish I had taken these photos in a different window without the screen behind, but I'm feeling too lazy to re-take the pictures. I still think they are beautiful though. Sometimes we cut them into shapes (hearts, stars, circles). Sometimes we make frames for them out of colored construction paper. Sometimes we just hang them in the window as is.
