How to Make Glitter Crayons

Sort broken crayons by color, melt them and then add glitter to create new ones.

Glitter crayons provide sparkle to drawings without waiting for messy adhesives to dry. They allow young artists to portray the light-reflective effects of sandstone, mica and granite. Glitter crayons also work well when drawing the effects of light on water droplets on plants and animals, such as elephants bathing or a field of flowers in a misty rain. Keeping the glitter evenly distributed throughout the crayon is a challenge.

Things You'll Need

• Used or broken crayons
• Double boiler
• Craft sticks
• Metal teaspoons
• Iridescent, silver or gold glitter
• Candy or clay molds or muffin tins, milk caps, jar lids or seashells
• Clear or colored cellophane bags

Instructions

1. Sort used crayons by color group. Sort reds and oranges together, yellows alone, blues and purples together, greens alone, tans, browns and peaches together, black alone and white alone, depending how many you have of these colors. Sort pastels from full-hued crayons and bright colors from darker hues if you have enough.

2. Break each crayon into 1-in. pieces or smaller to make them easier to melt. You will need to melt each color group separately.

3. Fill the top pan of your double boiler 1/3 to 1/2 its capacity with the sorted crayon pieces. Fill the bottom half of your double boiler with water. Slide the top pan of the double boiler into the bottom.

4. Place the pan on the stove on medium-low heat. Stir the crayons with a craft stick every 5 to 10 minutes to help them melt faster. Continue until all chunks of crayon melt enough to stir into a smooth, creamy consistency without chunks or lumps.

5. Spoon a little melted crayon and let it drip back into the pot, using a metal teaspoon. If it drips, you are ready to add glitter. If not, wait 2 minutes and test again.

6. Add 1 tsp. glitter to every 1 c. of melted crayon. Stir the melted crayon with your craft stick until the glitter is evenly distributed throughout.

7. Spritz each mold with a light coating of cooking spray. Pour the melted crayon and glitter mixture into your molds, tapping each one lightly on the table or counter to remove any air bubbles.

8. Place each mold in a level position in your freezer to cool.

9. Pop your glitter crayons from the molds, and wrap them in clear or colored cellophane bags.

Tips & Warnings

• Start with your lightest, brightest color first if you have only one double boiler to prevent residue from darker colors affecting the clarity and brightness.