Reusing Broken Crayons
I don't know about you guys, but I have very little patience for broken crayons. As much as I try to contain my kids' art supplies and make them clean up after themselves, I always end up bending over scooping up tiny crayon pieces and then not having the heart to trash them. So awhile back, I started collecting them in a little baggie for a project.
I tried to bribe my kid by saying she could only help me with this if she cleaned up her toys. I guess the project didn't seem cool enough, because she refused. She sure liked watching each step of the process though.
NOTE: I highly recommend getting your kids to do the dirty job of peeling the paper off the crayons. I kind of forgot I'd have to do this, and it took way longer than I expected.
You want to overfill slightly, as the crayons will melt down to below the surface.
When they're completely liquidy, they're ready to take out.
I put them in the freezer to speed up the cooling process once they had already cooled off a bit.
Don't they look cool?!
Confession: a few of the crayons don't actually work that well. I think what happens is the super waxy (aka cheap crayons from restaurants etc.) crayons separate when they melt, and the plain wax ends up at the top or outer edges of the discs, making for a crayon that has little to no color, at least for the first couple passes. And my kids weren't patient enough to use them.
So word of advice: don't use crappy crayons for these, unless you don't really intend for your kids to color with them. And on that note, I want to add that my kids ended up playing with these completely differently than I expected (which was for them to, well, COLOR with them). My daughter had a blast putting these back in the pan and pretending to bake muffins in her kitchen. They're also just fun to stack.
I tried to bribe my kid by saying she could only help me with this if she cleaned up her toys. I guess the project didn't seem cool enough, because she refused. She sure liked watching each step of the process though.
NOTE: I highly recommend getting your kids to do the dirty job of peeling the paper off the crayons. I kind of forgot I'd have to do this, and it took way longer than I expected.
How to make crayon disks
1. Chop crayons
2. Spray and fill muffin tin
Spray the muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. There are other ways to make these (microwave and Dixie cups, for example), but I had this on hand. I was able to remove most of the crayon residue afterward, but I think because it's an old non-nonstick one, it didn't all come off.You want to overfill slightly, as the crayons will melt down to below the surface.
3. Bake
at 275℉ for roughly 10 minutes. Just keep an eye on them.
When they're completely liquidy, they're ready to take out.
4. Cool.
I put them in the freezer to speed up the cooling process once they had already cooled off a bit.
5. Pop 'em out!
They should come out pretty easily once cooled.
Don't they look cool?!
Confession: a few of the crayons don't actually work that well. I think what happens is the super waxy (aka cheap crayons from restaurants etc.) crayons separate when they melt, and the plain wax ends up at the top or outer edges of the discs, making for a crayon that has little to no color, at least for the first couple passes. And my kids weren't patient enough to use them.
So word of advice: don't use crappy crayons for these, unless you don't really intend for your kids to color with them. And on that note, I want to add that my kids ended up playing with these completely differently than I expected (which was for them to, well, COLOR with them). My daughter had a blast putting these back in the pan and pretending to bake muffins in her kitchen. They're also just fun to stack.
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