“Chique” Craft: Melted Crayon Hearts

Over the last few weeks, I volunteered to help clean out the closet in PJ’s classroom. While organizing, boxing and sorting all the materials, I ran into a gigantic bin of old used crayons begging for someone to play with them. They looked so sad and uninspiring. There is something about a fresh box of crayons that makes my heart sing. As a kid I dreamed about a new giant box of 64 Crayola Crayons with the built in sharpener every September as we shopped for “Back to School” items. So what were we going to do with all these lonely, broken crayons? I set them aside waiting for the perfect use. It came to me in the middle of the night. Don’t some of your best ideas come to you when the world is spinning around you? I remembered that we bought a silicone heart candy mold years ago that we used once. Why couldn’t we melt the crayons into heart shapes as Valentine’s Day gifts for the classroom? So, that is what we did!

I must say after spending the weekend peeling old crayons, crushing them, cooking them, cooling them and sorting them; I am a bit attached. The amazing colors, swirls and shape of all these magnificent hearts laid out on the table is a piece of art in itself. Each one more interesting than the next. They are so gorgeous, you almost want to eat them. But what would I do with 31 crayon hearts? So, PJ is busy cutting paper hearts and writing his Valentine’s Day message on the cards, as we stuff them into clear bags with a little cushion of raffia and tie them with a delicate bow for all his classmates. The once well loved crayons have now been recycled into perfectly shaped wax hearts that will continue to inspire the kids to draw. Crafty & “Chique”.

Melted Crayon Craft

Old broken crayons
Cookie mold or muffin tin
Rolling Pin or Meat tenderizer
Clear plastic bags
Ribbon
Raffia
Colored Paper
Scissors

Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees. The hardest part is removing the paper from the crayons so get the whole family to help. Then put all the broken crayons into a bag and crush them with a rolling pin or meat tenderizer. The smaller the pieces the cooler the final crayon! Fill up a candy mold or muffin tin about 3/4 of the way. You don’t want them too thin or they will crack when you remove them. Place the silicone baking mold on a cookie sheet as it is a bit flimsy.  Cook them for 25 to 30 minutes. It varies so keep an eye on them in the last few minutes. Place them in the freezer to cool for approximately 5 to 10 minutes. One set we left in there while we went out and they cracked so we had to re-melt them. Once they are hard carefully remove from the mold. We recycled old Ziploc bags, cut off the top, stuffed with raffia and used old ribbons to decorate. PJ cut out paper hearts and wrote his Valentine’s Day message on each one. We hole punched the note and attached it with the ribbon.  Happy Valentine’s Day~