I had a request to do soap carving again, so I got a pack of Ivory soap bars and let the boys make a humongous mess with dull knives and various carving implements. Ian carved a couch and I got as far as a robot head before I realized I’d been abandoned with a mountain of soap shavings.

I rounded the boys back and up and we scooped the shavings and scraps onto a paper plate and popped them into the microwave to watch it grow into a giant Jabba the Soap monster (due to the moisture and air expansion).

We then floated the fluffy, leathery “island” in the bath, and all the boys got in with it and obliterated it. Instant bubble bath for the next 4 days. I pressed some more left overs into cookie cutters to make shaped soap for the bath. Not gorgeous, but passable.

Next, I got on a crayon kick. Inspired by a dinner “campfire,” I experimented with crayons and a candle to “draw with dots.” But, I got busted using melting Elijah’s crayons without permission, so I put that idea on hold for later.

All over Pinterest, I’ve seen the projects where crayons are glued to a canvas or board and then melted down the page. We gave that a go. It was pretty cool. Next I want to try using a cluster of greens and then flip the picture over to look like a tree, or use warm colors to do a fire.

I’ve also seen some mixed-media projects that use a paint background with melted crayon shavings on top that I wanted to try. From left to right is mine, Ian’s, Isaac’s and Elijah’s. There were leftover shavings and paint, so I got some heavy paper and painters tape to play with blocking out a letter.