How to Make Stained Glass Window Art for Kids
Helping your Children to Create Brightly Colored Window Decorations
Aug 6, 2008
Children love hands-on activities and when you add color into the mix, all the better! This craft project uses simple materials such as waxed paper and crayon stubs.
Teaching your kids how to make stained glass window art is a great way to demonstrate the value of recycling usable materials.
Materials You'll Need for Faux Stained Glass
- Plastic tablecloth
- Crayon ends
- Containers
- Grater
- Waxed paper
- 2 tea towels
- Iron
- Ironing board
- Yarn
Getting Started (Stage I)
1. Ask your children to go on a crayon hunt to collect all their old crayon stubs. While they are gathering these, spread a plastic tablecloth over your table to protect the surface.
2. Alternatively, if you plan on making lots of stained glass pictures, purchase a couple of packages of crayons.
3. When you have a pile of crayons, sort through them and discard dull or dark colors such as grey or black, which are not suitable for stained glass window art.
4. Encourage your children to pick out their favorite colors to use when making their stained glass panels.
5. Carefully grate the crayons and place each color into a separate container. (This is best done by an adult.)
How to Make Stained Glass (Stage II)
6. Now, measure pieces of waxed paper to achieve the size of picture you desire and carefully cut or tear the edges. Estimate the number of stained glass pictures/panels your children plan to make and for each picture or panel plan on two sheets of waxed paper.
7. When you have a stack of waxed paper sheets. Give each of your children a sheet and direct them to sprinkle on a mixture of crayon peelings, using different colors. Make sure that the crayon peelings are spread out evenly and that they cover the waxed paper. Leave a space around the edge to allow for melting.
8. Place another sheet of waxed paper over the sheet with the crayon peelings and slide these onto a flat surface such as a bread board.
9. Turn your iron to a low heat setting and while it is heating, spread out a tea towel on your ironing board. Slide the faux stained glass picture onto the tea towel and cover with another towel.
10. Run the iron over the picture pressing out from the center in the direction of a circle, so that the crayon colors melt and fuse the wax paper sheets. Peek under the towel, checking until the crayon wax has melted. Remove the towel and place each picture on a flat surface to cool. Carry out the same procedure for each stained glass picture.
Stained Glass Window Art
- The crayons will have melted into interesting swirls and shapes. Your children will now have beautiful, stained glass pictures they can display.
- Each picture your child makes will be different. This is part of what makes faux stained glass making such an interesting undertaking.
- For best effect, hang the stained glass in a window so that the sunlight illuminates the colors.
Making stained glass pictures is a good rainy day project. This project is also a popular activity at children’s parties.
Uses for Stained Glass Panels
- If your children have playhouses or dollhouses, they can cut out small squares or rectangles from one of their stained glass pictures and use these to make stained glass window panes.
- Your kids can use their stained glass panels to fashion realistic looking church stained glass windows.
- Different shapes can be traced onto the waxed paper, such as stars or bells. Once these are cut out, your kids can glue yarn or pipe cleaners around the edges to make Christmas stained glass. Stained glass ornaments are pretty hung on the tree—especially when illuminated by the lights.
- Help your children to cut their waxed paper panels into large circles, which can be hung in windows for stained glass window hangings. (Use a pen to create a small hole and thread brightly colored yarn through the opening.)
- Trace and cut out out birds or butterflies for pretty stained glass suncatchers.
Making stained glass window art is an interesting and inexpensive undertaking--a captivating craft project for children, using everyday materials.
Other Craft Projects:
How to Make Homemade Christmas Ornaments
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