Shaped Crayon Up-cycle

Up-cycled crayons, nothing new of course. I used to sell these on Love Abounds. I have molds coming out my ears! Okay, maybe not that many. But I do have quite a few, and we always have crayons laying around. Broken ones. This year for Valentine's day Piglet,  I posted pictures HERE,  will be giving these to her classmates. I have an extra dozen or so for Pixie to pass out to friends. Which to her is any random little person we see while out and about. So cute.

Picture taken by Petruzzo Photography

These crayons are great as a gift for classmates, party favors. They are awesome for younger kids since they are so big and chunky they don't break easily. Plus you use old crayons, can't beat that right? Don't have molds? No worries, you can bake these in those nut cups/ cupcake lines. The ones that hold their shape without a tin. Once baked and cooled you can just peel off the paper. Though they release fairly easy in those cups. You can also have you children make a little mold from aluminum foil to bake in. Just make sure it's thick enough and has a flat surface so that it doesn't rock. If you bake these in a muffin tin, just know that you will not be cooking with that tin again.
You can also clean out empty food cans, and heat the crayons over a burner. With this method you can make stacked rainbow crayons, I'm going to fill old glue sticks this way, if I can ever collect enough empty containers. *I tried a chap-stick container- hot mess. It wouldn't twist up, I'll try again but not anytime soon. Still haven't tried the glue sticks though!

Children of all ages can help peel the paper off of the crayons, I take a knife and make a slit straight down the sides for easier peeling. Breaking the crayons into pieces is also a great job for the kids.

Shaped Up-cycled crayons

Crayon pieces 

an old cupcake tin- silicone is easiest for removal, molds that are oven safe

pot holders

Remove all paper from the crayons.
Break the crayons into pieces. 

Divide the pieces into the molds.
Bake the crayons in a 300 degree oven until melted. About 7 minutes.

Remove from oven carefully. 

Let cool completely before taking them out of the molds.

 Tips and notes

I have never greased my tins. I've used both metal nonstick molds/cupcake tins and silicone. Neither have ever needed any grease. Maybe because my metal tins are not deep. You can see I have one pictured, it's more of a cookie tin.

Using a knife to make a slit down the length of a crayon helps with paper removal. 

Crayola crayons work best, they colors are more vibrant, and they melt better for me. They are the only crayons I use.
Light crayons with dark crayons give great contrast- obviously.

Clean out empty food cans, and heat the crayons over a burner. With this method you can make stacked/layered rainbow crayons, I'm going to fill old glue sticks this way, if I can ever collect enough empty containers.

Make a mold out of aluminum foil, have your kids shape a mold around a favorite toy.

Use foil and old mason jar lids/rings to make a mold.

Nut cups safe for baking hold up well in the oven as a mold.

Add glitter for more fun, just sprinkle glitter into your baking mold, add crayon pieces and bake. You can also sprinkle with glitter just as they are coming out of the oven.