crayon re-do

re-purposed crayons

If you are anything like me, you probably have a ga-billion pieces, chunks, and tid-bits of crayons somewhere in your home! Sick and tired of buying, breaking, and throwing them away I found a neat way to re-use these colorful bits into a whole new life.

First, gather all of the pieces together and take ALL the paper coverings off of each and every one of them (they will catch fire if you don't!)

You can then do one of two things- use cupcake liners (with a waxy finish) lined up on a baking sheet, or you can re-purpose older cupcake tins (found at Goodwill or rummage sales), metal or silicone ones, for just this purpose (they won't be usable for baking again, so keep this in mind)

Place into a preheated oven of 250 degrees F. Watch carefully, they will melt fast! Bake them for about 7-8 minutes. When they looked melted enough, carefully and slowly remove them from the oven. You can stir them with a toothpick for a swirly look, or leave them as is. Let them cool completely (can be placed in the freezer to speed up process once the tin is not so hot.) When completely cool it is now safe to handle them and remove them from the tins.

When cool, you can poke toothpick through one of the crayons. Tie a festive ribbon on and you can hang on your tree, or give as a fun gift. Package the new crayons up in some clear wrap or a cookie tin. Package them up with a drawing tablet. They make excellent gifts!