Make Your Own Crayons

How wonderful was your Labor Day? I'm going to go ahead and assume. Pretty wonderful. My Mom came to visit me to explore Greenville and help me get my new place a little more put together. We accomplished a ton and somehow it seemed to create all the more work. 

It made me think of when I was home just a few short weeks ago and helping Mom prepare for the start of the school year with her new Kindergarten class. We just happened to take pictures of that adventure if you care to make your own crayons, for a classroom or yourself.





You Will Need:
-Lots of crayons, old ones that are broken or unused are the best kind. Also, Crayola seems to melt the nicest.
-Molds, either candy molds or fun ice trays
-Empty clean soda cans

Start by peeling the old crayons using a knife down the wrapper. It's best to sort them by color while you're peeling them. It's fine to have a pretty broad spectrum of the same color but if you mix too many outside colors with this method the final color can turn out a little brown-ish. Break the crayons into smaller pieces.



After you're finished peeling and snapping crayons (which is oddly satisfying), fit as many crayons as possible into a soda can. Make sure the can is as full as possible or it will want to tip over when you place into a small pot of boiling water. This little hack makes what is essentially a disposable double boiler. Later as the crayons in the can start melting you can add any crayons that didn't fit into the can on the first go. It takes about 10 minutes or so to get the wax nice and melted. Make sure to use a pan that is not your favorite in case you accidentally get a little wax in there; it's not the easiest thing to wash off.



Mom collects blue apples and they are a part of her classroom theme so the blue apple crayons seemed like a perfect welcome gift for the new kindergartners. Once the wax melts, pour the contents of the can slowly into your chosen molds. Mom used an oven mitt at first but then decided the can wasn't actually that hot and just used her bare hands. I was too much of a pansy to touch it. I don't have that magic force field yet that moms get around their hands to protect from heat, etc.  The wax in the molds may start to dent slightly in the middle. That shouldn't matter, but if it bothers you pour in a tiny bit more wax to fill it. Put the molds in the freezer for about 20 minutes to let the wax harden.



Pop 'em out and you're done! If you get any spill over, it's best to let it harden and then gently trim it with scissors after the crayon has been removed from the mold. You can reuse the same can over and over for the same color. You probably shouldn't use whatever mold you used to make the crayons to hold food again...

We did this all the time when my sister and I were younger--Mom knows all the fun activity secrets. Have you ever made crayons before? Any other tried and true methods to share? I'd love to know!

Sheila