Set out today on a project with dd 5y. Got the idea in a book.You take crayons that are old and take paper off (I'm using some new crayons also). Put them in sturdy plactic cups and melt in the microwave. Pour the melted crayon juice into candy molds and freeze for 20 min or until set. Pop them out and you have newbie crayons in shapes.
I had a false start when I tried to use a styro cup thinking that would work okay. Didn't work for me. The cup got hot and the crayon was cool even after 3 minutes. The directions I have says 4-6 min. in microwave and 20 min in freezer for those of you that want some exacts. Oh... an we are using different colors in the same colore group and making kinda groovy colored crayons in each mold.
Haven't pulled them out of the freezer yet... but I'm hoping it all goes well. I'm making enough for some of the cousins. It's a slow process but I hope it's worth it when it's done. You'll have to let us know how this works out Anni. I haven't been brave enough to try it yet. I did see a cool idea once about using holiday molds for these (like Christmas) & letting the kids give them to their friends as gifts. May just give that a try one of these days.
Next time I make this I'm going to go and get a buncha glass cups from the thrift store and use them so I can throw them away. The crayon melts better in a glass cup although you need to use a hotpan holder to pour it. And the crayon makes a helluva mess on the cups... ended up ruining some of my coffee cups. Oh well! Anyhow they turned out wonderful. You can mix the colors too. I used plastic forms that were small. Worked wonderful! I've done something like this before. Only I didn't have a microwave then. I used disposable pie tins and melted the crayons slowly in the oven. You do have to watch carefully, as wax is highly flammable.
what removes washable crayon anyway? nightshade has lovely black drawings, there's orange on the windowsill, & a big red drawing on the door... it doesn't bother me in the least, but i suppose i will have to remove it before i can repaint. i've tried soap, baby wipes, citrus cleaner... not a budge. :) i thought washable in crayons just means it comes out of thier clothes. lee
Another I've done is save up old bits of candle. I put them in the disposable pie tins in the oven and melt them together (all the reds go in one tin, greens in another, etc)- the wax shouldn't be more than around 2 centimeters deep or so. When they melt I take them out of the oven and let them cool. When they are still soft and pliable, but no longer liquid, the kidlets choose some Christmas cookie cutters and put them in the wax and leave them there. When the wax is hardened we can pop out the Christmas shapes. I heat a needle and thread it through the wax and we hang these on the Christmas tree. They look very pretty iin front of the Christmas lights, and they're so easy to make that quite small children can be proud of their handiwork. They are fragile, but you can melt them again another year and make new ones, and they will keep if packed gently and stored in a cool place where mice can't eat them. I have some my 18 y.o. made when she was 3.
Just thought I'd share the fun.
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