Crayon Melting Art Projects

Save all those old or broken crayons for a craft day at home.

Do you have broken crayons laying around? Recycle all of your broken and old crayons into new art projects. Showing children to creatively recycle everything--even inexpensive things--will teach them the value of recycling and maximize all your resources. All of these crafts require some adult supervision and are targeted to entertain younger children. Have older children? Have them oversee and help the younger ones with the crafts.

Create Your Own Color

Use your old crayons to make new custom colors. Separate the old crayons into a pile of light and dark colors. Take the paper off the old crayons and fill a muffin tin with the old crayons. When they are all melted they will blend into new colors. Another way to separate the crayons is by color groups. Reds, blues, greens, yellows, browns, oranges and purples together. Put the muffin tin into the oven that has been preheated to 400 degrees for 5 to 10 minutes. Do not leave them unattended--they melt quickly. When the crayons are all melted, take out and let them completely cool. After they are completely cooled, put the muffin tin into the freezer for 15 minutes, take them out and they should pop out easily.

Crayon Stained Glass

Tape two pieces of black construction paper together and cut a rectangle out of the center of the papers. This will be your window. Next, take a piece of wax paper larger than the rectangle you cut out of the black construction paper and lay it flat. Shave old and broken crayons with a cheese grater over the wax paper; when you are done, lay another piece of wax paper over the shavings. With an iron set on low, press the iron on the wax paper to melt the crayon shavings together. Let the melted crayon cool for two minutes. Glue the crayon wax paper in between the black pieces of construction paper. This fills the window with a stained glass effect. Let the glue dry and hang the project in a window to see the colorful designs.

Crayon Candles

Separate the old crayons into a pile of light and dark colors. When they are all melted, they will blend into new colors. Another way to separate the crayons is by color groups. Reds, blues, greens, yellows, browns, oranges and purples together. Melting the colors all together will yield a brownish color. Cut some string to the desired length for the wick. Start melting one color group in a metal container on a stove. Stir the crayons as they melt. The range should be set to low to avoid burning the wax. Tie a small weight to one end of the wick string and a pencil to the other end. Holding the pencil, dip the weighted end into the hot wax. Dip slowly to avoid hot wax splashing. You will have to dip repeatedly, and over time the wax will stick to the string, forming layer upon layer. After you have achieved the desired width, cut the weight from the bottom and press on a flat surface creating a flat candle base. Cut the pencil off, leaving a half-inch of wick on top. Allow the candle to completely set overnight.

Crayon Fishes

Shave old and broken crayons with a cheese grater over wax paper. When you are done, lay another piece of wax paper over the shavings. With an iron set on low, press the iron on the wax paper to melt the crayon shavings together. Let the melted crayon to cool for two minutes. Draw a fish stencil on the wax paper and cut it out with scissors. Experiment with small and large shapes and different kinds of fish.

References

• Thirfty Fun: Crayon Candle Project
• Kaboose: Melted Crayon Stained Glass Window
• Crayola: Find The Fish Craft

Resources

• Crayola: Crafts