Day 19: Making crayons for neighbor gifts

We all (ALL) have broken crayons hanging out around our house. I don't know about at your house, but at mine they show up EVERYWHERE. In the clothes hamper, the kitchen, the bathroom (what?!), and I can't even vacuum their rooms without finding at least 5. At least! I used to just toss them. We have so many crayons around here that they'd never miss the broken ones. Every year at school supply shopping time, I buy 8-10 extra packs of the 24 ct boxes. I mean, c'mon, they're only ~20 cents a piece! On a cold winter's day, what could be better than a fresh box of crayons! Well, there is one thing: a package of cool shaped crayons!

We made these last summer as a way to break up the summer boredom. So, now when I find a broken crayon, I save it. We have several ziplock baggies full of them, sorted by color. I found the instructions on Pinterest, (where else!). We made solid color ones, rainbow layered ones, shades of green layered ones, all kinds of combos! That was part of the fun! Designing new, cool crayons was pretty exciting.

We had these old boxes of crayons sitting on a shelf in the garage. It was the perfect place for Clyde to show up. This house doesn't have very many places to hide and I feel like I'm recycling the same ones over and over. Katie was looking EVERYWHERE and was getting a little worried. I told her to go check in the laundry room, which is through the garage. She didn't see him on the way to the laundry room, but she saw him on the way back. :)

We don't know many people here yet, but we do know a few neighbor kids. I thought it would be fun to make these crayons as a little gift. Incorporating the spirit of giving as much as possible!

We used the stove top method. But the oven method is probably faster and less messy, but then you can't do the layered ones. The oven method is great for the confetti style mixed colors. But I just love the layers. You will need: old broken crayons, a tin can(s), a small pot, wooden dowels or chopsticks, (I prefer chopsticks), and some molds. Molds, what kind of molds? I used whimsical ice cube trays. There are seasonal ones available at Dollar Tree and I also love the twisted star ones from IKEA. They are only a dollar, too! :) I wasn't sure that they are oven safe. That's one of the reasons I like the stove top method.

I can't find the original website we used for instructions. :( It was so long ago! But it's simple. Use an old, washed out tin can as a double boiler. Put it in a pot with an inch or so of water surrounding the can. Put peeled crayons in the can. (Get the kids to peel the crayons!) With this method, you can actually leave the the wrappers on and once the crayons have melted, fish the wrappers out of the can. Use the dowel or chopsticks to stir the crayons as they melt. Pinch the top of the can to make a pour spout and create!

Some examples:

I made a whole collection of bug shaped ones, too. But I didn't get a photo before I gave them away.

You can use a separate can for each color or layer. First pink, then red, then orange in one. Yellow, then light green, then green in a second. Blue, then purple in a third. It's also fun to melt your own colors! :) Go crazy!!!!