How to Make Crayon Stained Glass Windows

Remove the paper insert that came with the acrylic frame. Using a pencil on the blank, backside of the paper insert, sketch out a design for your melted crayon stained glass project. Whatever you draw will end up being reversed, so keep that in mind if your design incorporates letters or numbers. Also, try to close all of your shapes.

Use a fine-tip paint bottle to trace the lines you drew on the photo insert, on top of the acrylic photo frame. Allow the paint to dry completely, and then remove the paper insert.

Unroll a length of wax paper that is a little wider than twice the width of your acrylic photo frame.

Peel the paper label off of the crayons you want to use, and use your cheese grater or vegetable peeler to make a pile of colorful shavings on your wax paper. The colorful shavings can be mixed on the paper, or kept separate to make sure the colors stay true when you melt them. You will only need enough crayon shavings to evenly cover half of the wax paper piece. Note: You don't need to grate/peel the entire crayon - these cutting tools can be sharp if not handled properly, so watch your finger tips as you work!

Consider the pattern you painted on the acrylic frame and arrange the colors of your crayon shavings accordingly. When you iron the folded wax paper, your colors will be locked in place, so decide on the final color arrangement before moving on to the next step.

Fold the wax paper page carefully in half. Make sure it is still wider and longer than your acrylic frame. Gently slide two paper towels under the wax paper, and place two paper towels over the wax paper. With your iron on the lowest heat, hold the wax paper and paper towel sandwich in place, as you iron the entire surface of the top paper towel evenly. The paper towels help distribute heat and protect your iron from melted wax.

Pull back the paper towels and the top of the wax paper to check that the crayon shavings are completely melted on the wax paper. If not fully melted, refold the paper and paper towels, and iron until melted. (Note: Some of the wax will melt onto the paper towels.)

While it may seem scary, it's time to gently break off the back panel on the acrylic frame so that you are left with the front side that you painted. These frames are inexpensive for a reason -- the plastic is typically pretty brittle and breaks off easily. The back panel needs to come off so that the paint can be pressed into the melted crayon wax paper.

When the back portion of the frame is removed, position your frame with the painted-side down onto your melted crayon paper. Use scissors to cut the paper to the exact size of the frame.

Take a second frame (that still has its back panel intact) and use your permanent clear glue to coat the front of the frame.

Press the colorful melted crayon paper into the glue on the acrylic frame, and then spread a thin layer of glue directly on top of the colorful paper. Press your painted acrylic frame (paint-side down) into the glue-coated paper.

Use clothespins or clamps to keep the acrylic frame "sandwiches" in place as the glue cures. Wipe up any glue that squished out of the frames with a paper towel before it dries, and take care that none of the clothespins have glue on them, or they may end up being difficult to remove.

Cut lengths of string and knot them so that you have a giant loop. Pull the loop through the back panel of the acrylic frame. When the glue has dried on the melted crayon sun-catchers, hang them in a sunny place and enjoy. Alternatively, you can prop them up if your frame has a display stand attached to it.

Instead of cutting out one single sheet of wax paper, cut out the exact shapes you painted in your design, from a variety of melted crayon paper pieces. Working with a variety of colors will help you achieve more visual impact with this type of design, so melting five or more colors of crayon shavings onto separate wax paper pieces is recommended.

As you cut out wax paper pieces that match the design you painted, set them on the acrylic frame so that you can decide which colors will look best together.

Use clothespins to help keep your wax-crayon papers in place, and glue them to the painted side of your frame as you work.

You can check for gaps in your wax paper pieces as you glue the panels in place, by holding up the melted crayon stained glass against a bright window. If any overlapping wax paper is visible, carefully cut or bend the offending wax paper away. If any gaps show, carefully fill them in with similar-colored paper.

Spread glue onto the front of an acrylic frame (with its back still intact), press the frame to the backside of your wax paper design, and secure the art with clothespins as the glue dries. Be sure to clean up any glue drips that may squish out as you press the acrylic panels together.

For best results, don't let your glue dry in direct sunlight, as bubbles can develop. Allow the clamped art to cure in a flat, dry area for the recommended length of time listed on your glue bottle.