A while ago when I first started reading blogs there was a bit of a craze for melting crayons (the first one I read was at Frog, Goose & Bear, and if you want more ideas check out Hands on as we grow's pinboard). We tried them out at the time, but I've never posted about it.... so here it is, better late than never!
The idea is to take old, broken crayons and reuse them so they can be used again by melting them down. We had lots of crayon bits so we peeled off the paper and I chopped them up then Champ spent ages 'sorting' them in a muffin tin. I think he enjoyed this the most! I suggested matching similar colours together, but he wanted to mix things up and must have spent a good 20 minutes getting the perfect combination!
We then popped them in the oven on a low heat (about 130C for roughly ten minutes) and they melted together into pretty swirly colours. My major recommendation however is not to do them in a metal tin, but to melt them in silicone baking tins as they were a bit tricky to get out!
Then here are the results, lots of lovely patterned new crayons. As ours were a bit thin they are better for rubbing on a flat surface than drawing with, but they're still super pretty!
I think Champ was right, mixing up the colours was a great idea!
Let me know if you've tried it, or if you give it a go!
We tried these back around Christmas time and used just Red and Green for Christmas. I found out something though, Crayola and Rose Art crayons melt differently. One was more oily than the other. It seemed like one colored better than the other after they had been melted. It's a cut activity to do with all those broken crayons.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea to colour them for Christmas a lovely gift idea. I didn't notice a difference in our crayons but they were so jumbled up I don't think I'd have realised. Already saving up our crayons so we can do this again!
DeleteThis is always so much fun!! We have done it with shapes and used them for party favors. Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!!
ReplyDeleteFun, Fun! I've never melted crayons with my boys, they would love this! Thanks for sharing! :) Thanks for sharing this great post on Saturday Show & Tell @ Cheerios and Lattes last week! :) Hope to see you again this weekend! :)
ReplyDeleteMackenzie
How much fun is that? what a great idea to use up all of those broken crayons! Thanks for sharing on Tip toe thru tuesday!
ReplyDeleteKim
Love this activity! thanks for linking up to Weekly Kids Co-op linky!
ReplyDeleteWe save all the crayons we get from restaurants (from Kids' menus and whatnot) just to do this activity!!! haha I always feel a bit silly stuffing my purse with crayons after a meal, but they're free and perfect for melting!!
ReplyDeleteExcellent, I do the same! I also keep them for busy bags!
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