Recycled Crayons

Each year I try to make the gifts we give to our nieces and nephews. In past years they have gotten hats, scarves, fabric dollhouses/barns, and other handmade items. This year, I am making felt food for the little girls (pictures of that coming at a later date) and Ian is getting homemade crayons and other art supplies. I used this blog for inspiration and the basic instructions. I changed a few things as I went. A few people have already asked me how to make the crayons, so here are my instructions...

1. Start with old broken crayons, I had a bazillion from my years of teaching, and choose your colors. Then peel off the wrappers (this was by far the worst part of the project! And if you were wondering, yes, you can get a paper cut from a crayon wrapper).
2. Sort the crayons into a muffin tin by color (or mix colors if you want a rainbow crayon). Instead of a regular muffin tin, I bought a silicon shaped muffin "tin".

3. Bake the crayons at 280 degrees for about 25-30 minutes (this is the time in my mold, a metal one will be different). This pic is mid-melting.

4. Once the crayons are completely melted, take them out of the oven and set aside to cool. Since I am NOT a patient person I put mine outside in this chilly weather and they were set in about 30 minutes.

5. After the crayons are cooled and set, turn the tin over and pop them out.

I love how these turned out, but wish the red, orange, and yellow had a little more marbling to them. The green is by far my favorite. The blog I got the directions from suggested adding glitter to the crayons before baking, but I didn't have any. I plan on getting some for my next batch! I also read elsewhere online that you shouldn't use really cheap crayons because the wax and coloring will separate. My crayons are a mixture of Crayola and cheapy ones.

The mold I used is the perfect size for toddler and preschool sized hands! I really hope Ian loves his crayons!