Crafts: Valentine crayon decorations

Hen wasn't able to celebrate Valentine's Day at school but that didn't stop us from having a special day at home. A few weeks before, Hen and I made melted crayon hearts, an idea I got after borrowing Martha Stewart's Handmade Holiday Crafts from the library. These definitely require parental involvement as a hot iron is needed to melt the crayons. I also used a Microplane grater after determining that the crayon sharpener took too long to get the needed shavings for the project. (And I did end up grating a bit off the old finger - whoops.)

To do this project you need the following:
wax paper
parchment paper
iron
ironing board (or other appropriate surface for ironing)
crayons (grated or shaved)

1. Grate the crayons - I highly recommend making individual piles of each color.
2. Cut off a piece of wax paper - 12"x12" is a good size.
3. Fold the wax paper in half and open it again.
4. Sprinkle a light layer of shaved/grated crayons pieces on one side of the wax paper, staying clear of the edges.
5. Fold the wax paper in half again and fold all the edges closed. (1/2 to 3/4 of an inch is good.)
6. Place wax paper between two pieces of parchment paper to prevent wax from melting and sticking onto the ironing board (or whatever surface you're using to iron the item on) and the iron.
7. Run the iron across the parchment paper until the crayon has melted.
8. Hang wax paper to cool and then cut into desired shape.

This was a lot of fun and they look very cool. One note, if you decide to make these for yourself, if the crayon shavings/gratings aren't equally distributed, the item will lean to whatever side is heavier should you choose to hang them. (See orange heart in the third picture from the top.) I plan on making clover leaves for St. Patrick's Day next month.