How to Make Candles With Old Crayons

This is a great arts and crafts project to do with the kids on a rainy day. The only difficulty you may have is purchasing the paraffin, but all of that is available online.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• 2 to 3 lbs. of paraffin wax
• A handful of old crayons, sorted by color
• Wicks and wick tabs (get a variety of lengths)
• Double boiler (a smaller pot inside a larger pot of boiling water is fine)
• Fun shaped paper containers to house your candles, like milk cartons or Pringles canisters (or anything that can be cut or torn away from the candle)
• Pencils

1. Put the pot of water over a high flame. While you're waiting for it to boil, start breaking up the crayons. The parrafin wax will most likely be in squares, so saw them into quarters.
2. The boiling water and pot in the water should be ready in about ten minutes. Drop one quarter of parrafin and the equivalent of two crayons into the pot. Stir with a wooden spoon gently, rocking the pot back and forth as it melts.
3. Preparing the candle mold. Take your wick and attach it to the wick tab, dropping it on the bottom of the mold. Tie a pencil to the other end of the wick and balance over the top of the mold, keeping the wick straight.
4. When the wax is ready, put on a potholder and pour the wax into the mold. As it cools, repeat the process with a different color to create colorful layers for your candle.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember those glass jelly jars that used to double as cups when all the jelly was gone? If you have any around they will make great glass candle holders!
• Add oils to the candle wax to create pretty smelling candles!
• Be very careful when handling hot wax!