{Play} Make Your Own Multi-Color Crayons
April 3, 2012 in All Posts, Play, Toddler Activities
I so remember doing this when I was a kid.
We have so many broken (and half-eaten) crayons, it was inevitable I’d end up doing this activity with the kids. All you need are peeled, broken crayons and a mold. Some people use muffin tins, but I decided to use a silicon ice cube mold. Probably not the smartest idea given this warning:
If your crayons’ labels are all lovely and pristinely intact like the day you bought them, you could try this crayon peeling technique I saw last year. Most of our crayons are already unpeeled since Jane makes sure to denude each one as soon as they leave their cozy Crayola box homes.
Tip: When the crayons are almost melted, swirl out the bubbles with a toothpick, then continue baking them until melted.
Tip: Run the bottom of the mold through warm water to loosen the crayons before popping them out.
Not to be a total killjoy, but just wanted to point out:
This warning applies to most activities where you bring a room temperature solid (that’s not meant to be inhaled) to liquid form by heating it. Even though I had reservations about the safety of this activity, I just had to try it out with the kids.
Don’t let my concerns stop you if you decide the risk is minimal. Especially if you MUST try the divine hair dryer melted crayon art and ironed crayon shavings art seen all around blogland. For more ways to play with crayons, check out this great roundup of 35 Uses for Crayons compiled by Jamie at Hands On As We Grow!
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Chrissy – who has written 426 posts on The Outlaw Mom® Blog - Creative Living in a Conventional World.
[…] {Play} Make Your Own Multi-Color Crayons […]
We did this once but I had no idea that the breakdown might cause toxic emissions! Great safety tip!
We have SOOOOO many broken crayons in the art box in our house at this stage. I’ve got to store this idea away for using them up, instead of just binning them. I think this is one I’ll have to do on my own though, and then just present the finished result to my son, because I don’t really like the idea of all that melted wax and a busy two year old!