How to Make Recycled Crayons
Discover how crayons are made and then create your own with this craft that is great for all ages and a fun weekend activity! Your crayons will make excellent teacher gifts, party favors, or back-to-school presents. Have fun experimenting with different color combos and shapes!
Daniel Tiger and his friends take an exciting trip to see how crayons are made in the factory, but did you know you can make crayons at home, too?
Take the labels off of old, leftover crayons (like the tiny ones from last school year) and melt them into molds like they do at the factory — except you’ll be using your own oven.
Materials
Directions
Preheat oven to 250 degrees (F)
Remove any labels from your crayons and break your crayons into small pieces. You can use your hands to smash them or use a rolling pin or container to help break them up. The smaller the pieces the faster your crayons will melt.
Place the crayon pieces into the silicone ice tray or mold. Try mixing different colors in each mold section to create beautiful works of art!
Bake in the oven at 250 degrees (F) for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crayons are completely melted. You may want to place the silicone tray onto a baking sheet to avoid melted wax drips or spills!
Using a mitt or holder, carefully remove the crayons from the oven, making sure not to spill the hot wax.
Place the trays into the freezer for about 30 minutes to harden (or let it cool on the counter or table until it’s hard).
When they're hard enough, pop your new crayons out of the trays, molds or tins. You can wrap your crayons up in paper or bags to give as gifts, or use them right away to do some coloring. You can even practice sorting them by color and shape — an activity preschoolers may enjoy before heading off to “big” school.
Want more “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” activities? Check out the Make a Silly Folded Picture craft and the Practice SUPER Morning and Bedtime Routines activity to continue the fun!
This activity was adapted from a craft by Vickie Howell. She’s the author of best-selling craft book, AwareKnits: Knit & Crochet Projects for the Eco-Conscious Stitcher, and a regular contributor to Crochet Today! Magazine and Craftzine.com. Learn more about Vickie and her projects at www.vickiehowell.com.
Photographs by Karimah Henry.
Arts