Wax-Dipped Feather Chickens

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Bawk bawk bawk! These funky chickens are a total treat to make—and they look absolutely amazing when they’re all strutting their stuff together across a bulletin board. Talk about a showstopper!

For this vibrant project, we put a creative twist on traditional collage using a classroom favorite: crayons—but not in the usual way! Instead of coloring, we gave our old, broken crayons a second life by melting them down in small tin cans, grouped by color. We placed the cans on a hot plate griddle set to low heat, which safely warmed several color batches at once. (Pro tip: This works best with a small group and plenty of supervision.)

Each student took pre-cut feather shapes and dipped them gently into the warm, colorful wax. The wax layers dried super fast, and the results were stunning—bold, rich colors with a slightly glossy, textured finish. After dipping a variety of feathers, students arranged and glued them onto pre-drawn chicken templates, then added fun paper accents like beaks, eyes, and fancy tail fluff.

✨ Why This Project Works:

• It’s a fresh spin on collage—the waxed feathers add incredible depth and texture.

• It’s visually striking and display-worthy (hello, hallway art gallery!).

• It encourages creative choices, from color combinations to feather placement.

• It teaches safe heat-based techniques in a simple, manageable way.

• And best of all? It’s a fantastic way to recycle and reuse all those bits of crayons we all have floating around!

  
  
  

  
  
  

Whether you’re teaching about farm animals, exploring texture, or just want to wow your students with something completely new, this waxy chicken craft is a cluckin’ good time from start to finish!

©HOPECREEKSTUDIOS2025