Aunt Annie's Crafts logo

Aunt Annie's Crafts

Craft projects and more!

Friday Fun, for kids

Simple crafts for family, classroom and group craft time

Friday Fun, for kids

Simple crafts for family, classroom and group craft time
 
advertisement
Friday Fun

Recycled Crayons

Old crayons become new again!
Recycled crayons
What you will make:

In this craft project, make new crayons out of old broken ones. Your kids will have fun making crayons that are better than new. At the same time, they will learn about how crayons are formed, and how to combine colors. The recycled crayons also make a good gift when placed in a cellophane or plastic bag tied with pretty ribbon or yarn.

This project requires few materials and is great for family, classroom or group craft time. Adult supervision is required when melting the crayons. Hot wax can burn!

Related crafts: Melt crayon shavings to create Stained Glass Leaves or melt old candles to make Homemade Waxed Paper.

Here's what you need:
  • Broken crayons
  • Mini-muffin pans (silicone are best)
  • Old cookie sheet
  • Toothpicks
  • Newspaper
  • Kitchen oven
  • Oven mitts
  • Knife and a scrap of wood
  • Optional: Clear cellophane or plastic bags, ribbon or yarn

This project is rated EASY to do.

Share this craft with friends and family
Share on Facebook Share with a pin on Pinterest Share using email
Before you start
  • Make a place to work.
  • Read all of the directions.
  • Gather everything you need to do the project.
  • Think about the project. Imagine how it will look and what you will do with it.
advertisement

How to Make Recycled Crayons

Read all of the steps before starting.
Step 1: Project Preparation

Read through the project, then gather the materials needed for making the recycled crayons. Look for mini-muffin pans at garage sales and thrift shops. You might even find ones with fun shapes like hearts or stars. Cover your work area with newspaper. Preheat the oven to 200°F (95°C).

Step 2: Prepare Crayons
Peel paper off crayons and sort by color

Remove all the paper on the crayons. The kids can do this while you get the other things ready. It will be easier to peel the crayons if you score the paper with a knife first.

Sort the crayon pieces by color. Make piles of red, blue, green, and yellow crayons. Other colors can be placed in their own piles or in the pile that they match best—put purple crayons in the blue pile and orange crayons in the red pile.

Cut crayons to pea-size Break up any large pieces. Cut the crayons to about pea-size on a scrap of wood using an old knife.

Step 3: Fill Muffin Wells
Fill mini-muffin wells with bits of crayons

Place the mini-muffin pan on an old cookie sheet. Fill each well in the mini-muffin pan about ½ to ¾ full with pieces of crayon. Use all one color, or combine two or more colors to create a new color of crayon. Mix red and yellow pieces to make orange, red and blue for purple, or blue and yellow for green. Let the children mix the colors as they like.

Step 4: Melt and Cool
Mini-muffin tin with melted crayons

Place the muffin pan on the cookie sheet in an oven preheated to 200°F (95°C) for 15 to 20 minutes, until the crayons have melted. Carefully remove the cookie sheet with the mini-muffin pan from the oven using oven mitts. For smoother colors, use toothpicks to stir the melted crayon wax. Set the pans aside to cool for 30 minutes to an hour.

Pop crayons from pan Pop the cooled crayons out of the mini-muffin pans. If you have trouble getting the crayons out, put the pan in the freezer for a few minutes.

That's it! Your recycled crayons are ready to use!
Multi-colored stack of recycled crayons

Keep up with Aunt Annie's Crafts on Facebook, RSS feed or with our newsletter.

advertisement
 
Privacy Policy | About | Contact © 2024, AuntAnnie.com