Projects and Gifts You Can Make by Recycling Old Crayons

There's nothing better than a brand new box of crayons. So what do you do with all of those old broken crayons? Well, you can recycle them of course!

All of these activities include melting down the old crayons so you will need several supplies and an adult. (Actually I have included a method for melting that wouldn't require supervision)

Old Crayons (all peeled free of labels)
Pie Tins
Molds (jello, muffin tins, candy molds, medicine cups..anything small, shampoo caps)
An Old Magnet or Two
Old Spoon
Baby Food Jars
Scissors
Stapler or Ribbon
Glue
Construction Paper
Old Paint Brushes
Crock Pot, Electric Frying Pan, or The Sun

Now that you have your supplies let's get started! You'll need to start any project by
melting your crayons. Put the crayons in the pie tin (one color in each tin). You can use the crock pot or electric frying pan if you have an adult. Put the tin in the heating element and watch closely as the crayons do not take long to melt.

If you do not have an adult, use the sun! Break up the crayons with a rock or hammer. Put the crayons in the tins and out in the sun they go. Watch them melt before your eyes!

The first project to make is a magnet note pad set. These make great gifts for say Mothers or Fathers, even your teacher would love one of these. Choose a mold of the shape you want the "new" crayon to be. Now pour one or more color of melted crayon into the mold. Let that sit while you move on to the pad. Choose the colors of paper you want the note pad to be. Use two to three pieces of paper. Fold them in half and then in half again. Cut them along the folds. To attach the sheets together, use a stapler or pole a hole through the stack with the scissors and tie with a ribbon. Glue the string to a piece of magnet or an old magnet. If you stapled, just glue the magnet to the back of the pad.

Your molded crayon should be ready to take out of the mold now. Glue a magnet to the back and your note pad and crayon set should be ready for the fridge!

Next you can make a stained glass jar or painted rock. You will need to have your crayons melted as before. Now take a paint brush and decorate the out side of a baby food jar or rock with the melted crayons. When you are finished you can tie a ribbon around the top and This also makes a great gift! You will need to keep your jar out of direct sunlight when it is finished as the wax will melt again. (But hey how many of us have a office with a window any how?)

To make a stained glass picture, use the same techniques you did for the rock or jar project. This time you want to paint on a white sheet of paper though. When the picture is all painted, cut out your design or hang as is! These look great in a frame with no glass or backing.

My favorite project is just plain old recycling. I like to make "new" sets of crayons out of the old. Separate all the old crayons into piles of each color. Melt them with your favorite method. Choose your theme for the set of crayons you want to make. I like to use caps from gallon milk jugs or juice jugs. These yields a nice set of colored discs that can be stacked and tied with ribbon as gifts. You could use anything you'd like medicine cups work great and even cookie cutters laid out on a foil lined cookie sheet work.

The whole idea is to be creative and have fun. I like the fact that the projects can cost as little as nothing if you put you creative mind to it.