Our Mission

We are three sisters who want to share how we "live within our means" but live well! We will show you how (with a little elbow grease) you can make any found object into a treasure, cook an inexpensive meal, or bring you inspiration to enrich your life. We grew up in a large family (8 kids) with a mother who was very crafty and creative! Though our lives (aka husbands) have taken us to live in separate states, we still enjoy sharing what we are up to with each other. Now we want to share with you! We hope you enjoy our blog and we also hope it will bring you inspiration and happiness!

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Crayon Making - Recycle Those Broken Crayons


I work at a preschool, and we use crayons on a daily basis. Therefore, we end up with a ton of broken, or too short crayons, which is perfect for this project. I, however, went a bit crazy, and after I used up all of our nubby crayons, I went to the dollar store and bought a few more boxes. I thought it would be a fun Valentines gift for the preschool kids to have multicolored crayons in fun shapes. 



The most difficult part of this project is peeling the crayons. I ended up using an old kitchen knife to score the crayon wrapper, then it practically came off on its own. If you try it, just be sure to lay the crayon flat on the table, and pinch it with your thumb and index finger. Then gently slide the knife from tip to tip over the wrapper. It's definitely fine if you slice a little into the crayon, because you are going to break them up anyways.  



I found the silicone molds at a store in the mall called Kitchen Collection. They had several different shapes, and each one was only two dollars. You can end up making five to eight crayons at a time, rather than two in the Crayola Melt'n Mold Factory (Which retails for around $40 or $50). 




I used my toaster oven to melt the crayons, because I wanted to keep a close eye on them, and I also didn't want to heat up my regular oven. I have a cookie sheet that fits my toaster oven, and I placed the silicone tray on that, so it was easier to pick up when the crayons were hot. 




Here is how I did it:

1. Choose your colors, and peel several crayons.

2. Break the crayons, or cut them up, and fill the silicone mold. Larger pieces take a little longer to melt, but tiny ones melt too quickly, and run together.
3. Place tray on a cookie sheet, and heat in a 325 degree oven for approx. 10-15 minutes. 
4. Keep an eye on the melting crayons, because you don't want the colors to mix and become a yucky gray color. Remove them from the oven when you no longer see any solid crayon pieces. 
5. Allow to cool. I usually sit them on the counter for a bit, and then move them to the fridge for ten to twenty minutes. 
6. Once they're solid again, they should just pop right out of the mold.

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