Old Wax Crayons

troll35

Does anyone have any ideas as to what I can do with old wax crayons. I have an icecream tub full of them but the kids just don't seem to want to use them anymore (got too old really). In true OS style I don't want to throw them if I can do something else useful or creative with them.:think:

Many thanks

thriftlady_2

Two ideas

1) Shave curls of crayon with a knife onto a piece of blotting paper (or other thick absorbent paper), cover with another piece of paper and iron. Peel back top paper and you will have an abstract waxy pattern. Use lots of colours for maximum effect.

2) Break up into small pieces and place a mixture of colours in a bun tin. Melt in a low oven till all the colours are melted together. Allow to cool and harden -crayon cookies! The kids might enjoy playing around with them, or give them to a small child in a little bag as a Christmas present. This idea was pinched from The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn.

louidog

I am sure any playgroup in the area would be grateful of them

Katgoddess

thriftlady wrote: »

2) Break up into small pieces and place a mixture of colours in a bun tin. Melt in a low oven till all the colours are melted together. Allow to cool and harden -crayon cookies! The kids might enjoy playing around with them, or give them to a small child in a little bag as a Christmas present. This idea was pinched from The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn.

I was going to suggest this. There is a thread about it on the Christmas Forum here.

Penelope_Penguin

You can melt them into wax if you're making candles.

I offered mine on Freecycle and was inundated with requests.

penny. x

thriftmonster

I made the "scribble crayons" as gifts and they were popular with toddlers - especially if you mix colours. However only mix colours from the same shade eg all blues together for the best effect. Also I made mine from a bag I was given and there were true wax ones in there and some "synthetic wax" ones which didn't melt. They do look plasticcy - just watch out for them. It also took me a while to get my bun tin clean again.

stefejb

mmm old crayons - well in dgs's house we like to eat them, put some in the pockets of a white wash so they decorate the clothes and the machine or just simply grind them into the beige carpet - I'm gong to try the scribble crayons though - they sound cool

troll35

Thriftlady what temp did you melt them at. I tried this once before a few years ago and they seperated into a coloured layer and a murky hard waxy layer and they didn't work very well at all. I probably did something wrong.

I like the shavings idea. I have got some cheap canvasses from au natural for the older ones to do some artwork on.

saveaholic68

I have used them to make candles before too. If you don't have candle making stuff though it might end up quite expensive in the end though

thriftlady_2

troll35 wrote: »

Thriftlady what temp did you melt them at. I tried this once before a few years ago and they seperated into a coloured layer and a murky hard waxy layer and they didn't work very well at all. I probably did something wrong.

I think I did mine at about 150 c. I expect it depends on the quality of the crayons.

Morty_007

Hi all,
I hope this is the right place to post this and someone will know what on earth I am talking about...

I am trying to make chunky crayons out of old crayons, for my son. Have followed the exact instructions as I found them here (posted below) but the colours have all melded together and the different waxes have separated....any suggestions please?
Thanks in advance
Morty
x

Method I am using...

Chunky Crayons

What you’ll need:

• Crayons (like I said, you could use ones you already have or buy some. I purchased 5 boxes of 24-pack crayons for 20 cents each - back to school bargains!)
• mini muffin pan (one that you don’t mind getting a little crayon on)
• exacto knife (optional)

You’ll want to preheat your oven to 265 degrees F. Peel off all the paper from the crayons (for the new ones, I found it much quicker to remove the paper in one smooth motion if I carefully ran the exacto knife down the center of the paper and peeled the paper back), and break them into 1/2″ to 1″ pieces. Arrange two to three like colors in each slot, then bake for 6-8 minutes (don’t over bake - you want them just melted so you can’t distinguish the crayon shape anymore). Let them congeal a little on the counter, then place them in the freezer until they are firm (approx. 30 minutes). They should then pop right out.
This is great for little hands that aren’t steady enough to hold thin crayons. They can wrap their whole hands around them and go to town without breaking them.