"When
Jesus lives in us, he changes us and his light will shine through us.
Each sun catcher will be different, just as we are different and
unique in the eyes of our Lord." ~
Stacy Laws
This 'Son-Catcher' Butterfly was created using the Chrismon-Kids
Butterfly
pattern.
When the SON Catches you...you are
changed! 2 Corinthians 5:17
Just as broken crayons can be used to make
a thing of beauty; God uses us, 'broken and sinful people',
to create beautiful examples of his grace! (See Ephesians 2:1-10).
You will need wax paper, old crayons, scissors, an iron, a pencil, a pencil
sharpener, and a Christian pattern. Trace the
pattern onto a piece of wax paper. Fold the wax paper in half. That
way when you cut out the picture you will have two sides, for a front
and a back. Sharpen the crayons into shavings, and sprinkle them onto
one side of the wax paper. Leave about a half inch around the crayons
to the edge of the wax paper. (The wax paper will make a seal so the
crayons will not fall out.) Then, place the second piece of wax paper
on
top. Place a thin towel over top and iron on low to medium heat. (Enough
to melt the crayons and wax). Let the sun catchers cool, cut
around the edge of the pattern and punch a hole in the top then hang with a string on a window.
Enjoy! (Adapted from Stacy Laws posting in the Sunday School Teacher's
Newsletter-See Archive # 167.)
Optional:
Using a
black permanent marker, trace over the pattern onto the wax paper and
the lines will resemble the leading in a real stained glass window!
Additional tips and Bible themes:
1. Find someone with an old food-processor that will grind up all your
crayons, sorted by color. (We filled coffee cans each with a different
color--make sure you peel the crayons first.)
2. Use wax paper bags. Give each child a bag and let him or her spoon
their desired colors into it. Before you iron over the bag, fold the open
end a couple of times. Now the crayon can't ooze anywhere. Don't let
kids put too much in the bags, though--if it's too thick the iron won't
melt the crayon all the way through.
3. Don't bother to grind up dark colors like brown and black--in fact,
try it with just bright primary colors and see if the colors blend.
Bible themes to accompany melted crayon art:
1. Tell the kids that you're making stained glass windows (you can "frame" them with strips of black paper) and discuss any aspect of the
"church": proper church behavior; all God's different people--like the
different colors--blend to make His church; etc.
2. Note how the individual colors blend to make a beautiful work of art.
God has given us each individual gifts--when we blend them, we can accomplish even more for Him. (Ask the children to note: Is one color
more important? Do the colors look prettier by themselves or when they
are next to all the others? If one color was missing, what would it look
like?)
