Crayon Nibbles
June 13, 2008
When I was a kid, I always kept my crayons nice and neat. I kept them in the exact order as they first appeared in the box. I colored at an angle so the point was always nice. Once I got down far enough, it was time to rip some paper, it was time for a new box. As you can tell, I was just a bit picky about my crayons. Our girls are the complete opposite. They take all of the crayons out of the box, strip them down so they are naked and then break them into pieces. I try to make sure it doesn’t drive me too crazy. So in the end, we have a bunch of pieces of crayons and not much to do with them. I picked up a crayon maker at a yard sale last summer and when I went to use it, the mold part was missing. So it was difficult to make crayons with no mold. Last night, my sister suggested I melt them into new crayons using the oven and a muffin tin. What a great idea! I went searching for some more instructions on it and found great information and photos from Crafty Daisies.
Crayon Nibbles
Gather up:
- Crayons – you can gather up broken pieces you already have or go purchase boxes and break them up into pieces
- Mini muffin pan (you may want to use a muffin pan dedicated to crafts after this because some crayon may transfer onto the pan)
Directions:
Begin by preheating your oven to 265 degrees F. Remove all the paper from the crayons. Sliding an exacto knife down the length of the crayon may make the task quicker to peel the paper off. Break the crayons into about 1/2 to 1 inch size pieces. You can get 2 to 3 pieces per crayon. Put two to three similar colors in each muffin slot, then bake for 6-8 minutes. Do not over bake the crayons. To know when they are done, they will melt just enough that you can no longer see the shape of the crayon. Remove them from the oven and let them firm up on the counter for a few minutes. To get them out of the pans easier, place them in the freezer until they are firm–this takes about 30 minutes. Then pop them right out!
Little hands that have difficulty holding regular crayons can grasp these crayon chunks easier and color a masterpiece in no time without worrying about constantly breaking the crayon. In addition to just being a handy way to recycle crayons, they make great items to slip into treat bags for parties and to give out at school. By using different shaped tins, you can make really cute crayons.
Need a cute way to store your Crayons? Try a cookie jar.
Posted in Crafts, Kid Activities, Tutorials
June 13th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Hi Meredith! I feel like I know you and should call you Mere because Melissa talks about you and your girls so much. She sent me the link to your blog today and I LOVE it! It’s seriously a dream come true because I’m always looking for fun things to do with my kiddos. Thanks!!
June 16th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
I SOOO need to do this w/my crayons from school. Thanks for the directions, Mer!
June 25th, 2008 at 11:48 am
I did this today and just wanted to say thanks!! I found different baking molds (hearts and bunnies) and I plan on using these as baggie gifts for different holidays for Abbies school..now to be creative and come up with a cute label so they know they are crayons!! I’m going to look for more pan molds for each holiday…what a GREAT idea and thanks for sharing it!!
January 6th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Hi there,
I found this post through Lovely Design’s blog and love the idea of using a muffin tin. I remember when I baby sat in high school, I made some for the kids I watched by melting end bits in a Pyrex in the microwave and then pouring them into cookie cutters (which were coated with wax paper so they would not have to remain crayon-making cookie cutters after I was done). I mixed the colors up, though, to let them switch up as they used ‘em.
Thanks so much for the idea! I would have never thought of the oven and muffin tins (then again, I rarely use the oven for anything else, so it’s no wonder).
May 17th, 2009 at 10:48 am
OHH my gosh whata great idean iam a teacher for kindergardens and they alwasy break ther crayons i am gona do this THANK YOU !!!!
February 9th, 2011 at 1:13 pm
I have to empathize with you on the crayon neatness not being passed to the next generation. I, too, was picky about my crayons. But I have a bigger challenge to face. I’ve given birth to a Play Doh mixer. The only time I ever mixed my Play Doh was when I specifically wanted a new color–and even then, it was hard. My son just squishes them all (ohmygoodness) together. I’m coming to terms with this and retraining myself slowly by having him play with colors that I can stand to see mixed together. Someday, I’ll give him the whole rainbow and let him make gray. I’ll be okay. . .
February 10th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
we just did this for my dd class party. really easy and looks like i am a crafty mom!
February 10th, 2011 at 12:54 pm
Does this activity render the muffin pans ‘craft-only’? Should I be out looking for cheap pans?
February 10th, 2011 at 2:51 pm
Actually, I have the same problem with the Playdoh too. I had to learn to let that go as well! I still cringe when i see the funky colors they mixed and wonder how they can like playing with it. Seems it doesn’t bother them at all. So I just look for the positive parts of them mixing the colors…it makes clean up time much quicker and easier!
February 10th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Crayola crayons are non toxic, so I don’t think that it’s a big deal to reuse the pans. The crayons usually come out without leaving any residue you can see. But I’m no expert on that, so having a dedicated craft pan may be a good idea.
February 10th, 2011 at 2:57 pm
I’m glad it worked out for you!
April 3rd, 2011 at 9:15 pm
[...] Read how we did it here! [...]
May 14th, 2011 at 6:26 pm
I found a few silicone baking pans on a free site. I found a donut shape and a seashell. I am collecting pieces and ill see about making crayons on a rope out of the donut ones