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How to Make New Crayons Out of Old Broken Crayons

By Holly Campbell

If you have budding young artists at home, you definitely can relate to what I am going to talk about – step into your child’s room, you are likely to find broken crayons lying around all over the place. Many mothers simply discard crayons stubs into garbage bins but to a craft lover, every tiny piece is precious and potentially useful.

Making new crayons from old crayons not only helps you save a bit of money on kids art supplies, it is also great way to teach children to do their part for the environment by reusing things they already have in their own bedrooms.

Your children are sure to love this easy recycling craft because when crayons (wax) melt, they form swirls and other interesting patterns that never fail to get kids super excited.

You will need these household items – any number of broken pieces of crayon, aluminum baking cups or tin cans which you can either recycle or dispose, and any molds of novelty shapes for soaps, candles or candies.

How to Melt Crayons to Make New Crayons

1. Preheat your oven to 275ºF or 140ºC.

2. Gather your broken crayons and peel the wrapper off .

3. Break larger crayons down into smaller so that they fit well into your baking cups. Arrange crayon pieces in each aluminum baking cups or tin cans. You can use one color per cup or combine colors. Involve your children to do this themselves using their own creativity.

4. Place in heated oven and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes. You will notice that the broken bits start to melt slowly and form interesting designs, resembling a whirlpool.

5. Once they have melted completely, take them out from the oven and pour into molds. Allow it to cool on your kitchen top or pop the molds in the freezer for about an hour; they usually come out easier.

Helpful Tips for Making Crayons from Old Crayons

1. To get the wrappers off crayons, soak them first.

2. Use one brand or one type of crayon for melting consistency. When you dump different crayons together, it is difficult to melt evenly as some melt easily while others remain rock hard. So far, we find that Crayolas melt evenly.

3. Contrasting colors give the best result on paper. To encourage creativity in your children, get them to think of fun color combinations such as a white and blue blends for ocean, seven colors of the rainbow, orange and black for Halloween, red and green for Christmas theme, and so on.

Not only will your children love these beautiful multicolored crayons, they will also remember to save up any broken crayons they find in the house, and that means tidy rooms without you cleaning up their mess.

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