How to Make Crayons in Baking Cups

Recycle broken crayons to make new ones.

Crayon shavings and bits and pieces of broken crayons are a byproduct of a lot of coloring; use them to make brand new crayons. Make new crayons out of old ones or make totally new colors of crayons in the oven. Baking cups keep the crayon from sticking to the muffin pan and also make a zigzag pattern on the edge of the new circular crayon.

Things You'll Need

• Old crayons or shavings
• Mini baking cups
• Mini muffin pan

Instructions

1. Remove any paper from crayon bits and gather them together with shavings in mini paper baking cups. You can use bits and shavings of all the same color to make a single colored crayon or mix complementary colors like red and blue or pink and purple to make a swirl multicolored crayon.

2. Fill the baking cups three quarters full or less depending on how big you want your crayons.

3. Put the muffin pan in the oven set at 275 degrees F and bake until melted -- approximately seven minutes.

4. Remove the muffin pan and let the crayons cool.

5. Remove the crayons from the baking cups.

Tips & Warnings

• Baking time varies greatly based on the type of oven, so carefully monitor the crayons in the oven. The crayons melt quickly and should not be in long enough to bubble.

• To make crayons from scratch, mix dried pigments with melted paraffin wax, pour into baking cups and let cool.

• Be sure that there is no paper left on the crayon bits.

References

• Crayola: How Crayola Crayons Are Made
• Make and Takes: Recycled Chunky Crayons