I had been putting off the recycled crayon project for a while now. How fun could melting wax be? I was so wrong!
I started by telling Maddy that we were having a “crayon treasure hunt” for all of the itty bitty crayon pieces. She loved it and wow, did we have a lot! We put a manageable amount of them into a bowl.
And then the peeling party started. Yep-we peeled off ALL of the wrappers. I thought that the tedious factor of this process would lose Maddy’s interest-but it didn’t! At one point she even said: “This is the best project you have came up with so far, Mom!” Don’t we love to hear stuff like that? Towards the end of this part she did start spelling out words with the pieces. Although I was down a helper, I figured that this was educational and a good thing! It was also a great time to chat. We talked all about her day and what she thought about ladybug’s living on prickly rose bushes. We also discussed mixing colors and how neat it was that blue and yellow make green and red and white make pink. She is such a fun girl!
And then the best part! We put the crayon pieces into a Wilton’s silicone mold pan. You can also use plastic candy molds too. Every collection of colors had a theme according to Maddy! We made a peacock heart, a heart with all the colors she had seen in roses, a chocolate colored heart. We filled each cavity about 2 to 3 crayons high.
I put them in the oven at 250 degrees for about 15 minutes. The Crayola website warns that the room should be well-ventilated!
Let them cool. They should be hardened and ready for you and the kids to make the world more colorful!
My kids were thrilled with their new crayons! Maddy was frustrated at first that she couldn’t use them for detail. But when she saw the rainbow effect and how they changed colors mid-stroke she giggled with excitement! They were great for my two year old. He liked coloring with something larger than the typical skinny crayon. We recycled and had a blast doing it. Share some special time with your kids and have them help with the project!
About Natalie
Fantastic! I’ve been meaning to do this, but was dragging my feet on what seemed to be a hard project. However, your step-by-step instructions make this look relatively easy. Now I can’t wait to try this with my three kids!
It was so much fun! And very easy too. The kids could do everything except the oven stuff of course!
I tried this one time and of course did not use a silicon tray so they were a mess. I guess I just need to make a run to Michaels and then try again!
I really think a silicone tray is the way to go. And you can get them pretty cheap if you bring a coupon! They popped right out of there! Not messy at all.
oh we’ve made these before – so fun! looking at our crayon stash it looks like it’s about time to do it again…
Isn’t it a great way to recycle what we would have otherwise thrown away?!
We made farm themed ones for my little ones farm Birthday in January as part of the goodie bags. They turned out great and so easy. Love it
What a good idea for party favors! That’s awesome!
Will you be doing an August Kidtoons giveaway? The movie is Candyland.
The giveaway is up now! Hurry and enter now!
Great idea! Once my daughter starts drawing, and has little crayons left I will be doing this! Thanks!
It’s so fun when they start coloring! And then they realize that it’s fun to break the crayons into pieces… and then you might want to dig this post out of the archives!
My kids love the tie-dye look of the crayons we made!
Did you have any issues cleaning residue on the molds, or do you use them just for crayons? These look like a ton of fun, and you are right about the skinny ones being hard for little hands and the chunky ones are expensive!
I just use those molds for crafty things: chalk & crayons mostly!
Thanks Natalie, this is a wonderful idea, I just had to re-blog and link to you!
Check it out if you like:
http://feliciamaystevenson.blogspot.com/2011/10/5-fun-inexpensive-and-relatively-quiet.html
Thank you Felicia! I read and enjoyed your post!
Very cool idea!!
Thanks! I’m actually about to do it again for birthday party favors. So useful!
That’s amaizing idea!! Children must be inspired with it to draw and to do with mom anything else))
These would make great stocking stuffers! Gonna have to get out our crayon bits! Thanks for sharing
~Aleacia
What a great idea! it would make a fun afternoon with my boys,
I’ve seen this idea before, and love it! Thanks for reminding me of such a fun project to do with the kids!
Willa
I love this idea and as a mum of two little girls I have loads of ends of crayons lying around. I must try this during the holidays
Crayons for Cancer is a charitible organization that does this to raise money for childrens cancer wings around the country. They get donated crayons, shape them and resell them for patient needs. http://crayonsforcancer.org/ for more information
Thanks Natalie, there is nothing to be wasted, recycle sounds great, I have to try this one, my kids will be love it.
I just tried this with playing dough molds. Obviously, the crayons were too thick to put in the way you did, so we used scrapings and shavings. We used the microwave instead of the oven. Sure, it mmelted but it didn’t look as good as yours did. LOL atleast I tried. My little sibs loved it anyway!
I love this idea! Can’t wait to give it a try!
What a fantastic idea! I remember melting crayons as a kid between wax paper with an iron and I never forgot that project.
Yeah! Great idea. Some pretty stuff here. I`m beginning to dive into your blog…meanwhile stumbling upon it is a must!
This is a wonderful idea!! My 2 youngest children still use crayons, so this is perfect for making use of the broken and worn ones!
i really like it
hi thanks for the brilliant idea, i was wondering what to do with all those little pieces, knew i was saving them for something
Hope you dont mind, ive shared the article on my new facebook page parenting toolbox
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Parenting-Tool-Box/262420717163810
ill be visiting again , you have such wonderful ideas. thanks again. nayana
Ahhhhhhh, I am all over this. Thanks for the idea! we have boxes, bags and drawers (yes, my underwear drawer too) full of crayons! haha
Louise xo
I love that idea it is so cool!Safe Chat
great idea, i will do it with my daughter
That looks like so much fun. We will try that when our four 17-month old toddlers get a little bigger. I enjoyed your story of quality time with your daughter. Thank you.
: 0 ) Theresa
Through trial and error on this, I have found it is best if you let the crayons cool completely in the oven before attempting to move them. Our first batch ended up a not so pretty color!