Semi-Success

When school supplies went on sale, I bought several new boxes of crayons, because while my children may not care about the quality of their crayons, I DO. I feel like a good mother, when I place a cup full of unbroken, sharp crayons in front of them.

I was left with many cups full of broken, dull crayons, so my quarterly crafting bug went into full effect. We’ve all seen those cute crayons, made from melted down old crayons, yes? I bought one of those silicone molds, months ago. Probably in 2011 if we’re being honest. Fortunately, I had hidden it in a drawer that my husband never opens, otherwise it would have been purged.

So, I peeled the wrappers off of all of the crayons. This was super annoying until I started using a knife to score the wrapper. Do that, otherwise you’ll end up with crayon bits under your fingernails for days. DAYS.

Then I chopped up the crayons into smaller pieces. This was the most satisfying part of the project. (FORESHADOWING!)

Then all of the pieces went into the mold. I originally considered trying to use like colors together, and then abandoned that idea.

I put the mold into the oven, at 200 degrees for eight minutes.

They’re cute, right? Here’s the thing. After those eight minutes, there were still some unmelted pieces, but there was also a melting plastic smell coming from the oven. I put the tray in the fridge and popped out the crayons when they were solid. Except! Some of the crayons didn’t pop right out of there like everyone suggested. Some corners broke off and one split right in half. Not really a big deal, as – in theory – I can just melt them down again. Except, again, that I’m unwilling to put them in the oven, because I would rather not poison my family with toxic fumes. One tutorial said they could be microwaved, and I tried that and the crayons just  never really melted.

So, I’m saying this was mildly successful. Some people recommend melting the crayons on the stove, in a soup can, placed in a pot of simmering water, and … you can see why that’s just too many steps for crayons, right? Especially when I can buy as many as my heart desires for 25 cents a box every September.