repurpose your old crayons and create a new fun customized shape!
We had a lot of fun with this activity! Super easy to do and your toddler will enjoy customizing the color choices. You will need some old crayons (the more used and broken the better!), your oven, a baking sheet, a bowl of water and a silicone mold of your choice. We used heart shaped molds for Valentine's day, but you could do any shape, letters, etc.
Start with your bin of crayons and your silicone mold. I found this heart shaped one at Walmart when they brought out the seasonal shopping aisles for Valentine's Day. You can find similar styles at Target, A. C. Moore, or in the baking/decorating aisles. Pick out your crayon colors and get ready to take the paper off. We used about 20 crayons and did two batches of the molds.
Take a bowl with some warm water and put all of your crayons in it. Allow it to soak for a couple minutes until the paper starts to come off. Remove the crayons from the bowl and peel all of the paper off your crayons. You don't need to worry too much about drying the crayons off, but you can pat them dry with a paper towel.
After all of the paper is removed from the crayons, begin to break them into pieces small enough to fit the mold. Our pieces were about half an inch to an inch in length. If it is difficult to break the crayon with your hands, you can use a knife or the edge of the table to help break it.
Pick your colored pieces and place them into the molds. It's okay if you have some crayons sticking up out of the mold. As the crayons melt, they will fill in the mold. Just be careful not to overstuff the molds as they may over flow. Mix and match colors or use all of the same color. I tried to make tie dyed Valentine's colored hearts. My son wanted to make "all red" hearts.
Place your silicone mold on a baking sheet for easy transferability. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and "bake" your crayons for 7-10 minutes, until fully melted. Be careful not to let the crayons boil. Remove from the oven and place the baking sheet on a cooling rack. Allow the new crayons to set for about 30 minutes before removing from their molds. They should pop out with no problem... but gently remove from the side or corner instead of pushing directly from the center of the heart.
Allow the crayons to cool and set for a total of one hour before you begin to color with them. Enjoy your tie dyed crayons! I don't know about you, but when I was a kid I always experimented with putting several crayons together and creating multiple colors at once in a swirling motion. Now your kids can do the same with just one crayon!
Have fun experimenting with different colors and molds throughout the year with an easy repeatable Holiday craft, year after year! Be sure to tag me on social if you try this activity and show me what you come up with!
Share this blog with a friend that you think would enjoy doing this with their kiddos.💕
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