Stained Glass Hearts

Description

Toddler Activities: Stained glass hearts using wax paper and crayon shavings will brighten up any window. I used to make stained glass hearts with children in the classroom. We made it into a card for parents by cutting a heart out of construction paper and replacing it with one of these hearts. I saw these hearts on Martha Stewart made into a mobile so we made one too.

Materials

wax paper stained glass hearts
Download the directions here: Stained Glass Hearts

  • Heart shaped stencils or cookie cutters

  • Crayons

  • Kid's Pencil Sharpener with sharpener for jumbo pencils

  • Small dish or container for crayon shavings

  • Wax Paper 12 x 12 inch pieces

  • Paper Towels

  • Iron

  • Ribbon or yarn

  • Hole Punch

  • Craft Glue

  • Sharpie Pen

  • Ironing board or flat hard surface to iron on.

  • Hanger (optional)

Steps

  • Sharpen colors using large sharpener. Collect shavings in small dish.
  • Lay a couple paper towels or an old dishcloth on the ironing board or surface to be ironed. Color will transfer
  • Lay a sheet of waxed paper onto the towels.
wax paper stained glass hearts
  • Sprinkle shavings lightly for best results leaving a two inch margin all around.
  • Place second sheet of waxed paper on top.
  • Place another paper towel on top of the waxed paper.
  • Heat iron on low setting and press on paper towel/waxed paper for two seconds, lift and repeat until shavings have melted. (Adult step)
sprinkle crayon shavings
  • Sliding the iron will create more blending.
  • Cut out heart shapes in various sizes tracing stencils, cookie cutters or free hand with a sharpie.
  • Tape ribbon to back of heart or punch hole and slip ribbon through hole. Glue loop and let dry.
  • Tape hearts to hanger or window.
melting crayon shavings

Tips and Suggestions

  • I used a dish towel and there was some color transfer so paper towels are recommended.
  • If staining is a concern, use washable crayons.
  • Do not fold to cut out heart shape. There will be a crease down the middle and the heart may not lay flat.
  • We traced cookie cutters with a sharpie. The cutters came in a pack of 6 varied sizes for about $2 US.
  • Sprinkle crayon shavings lightly, we tried one with a lot of shavings and it doesn't show the light well through the heart and turned into almost a solid color.
  • We used Offray Polyester Ribbon in 1/8" (3mm)

Other Ideas

Fold a piece of construction paper in half. Fold top piece into halves again. Draw ear shape to create heart or trace half a heart stencil. Cut out heart Tape heart to back of card. Make sure heart you cut out is smaller than the stained glass heart.
stained glass card