What can I reuse or recycle as moulds for making new crayons from old ones?
We asked about stuff to reuse/recycle as homemade soup moulds not too long ago but Danell has messaged with a variation on that theme:
I want to melt old crayon stubs together to make new crayons for kids. I know I could use old muffin tins or ice cube trays, neither of which I have, but I was wanting them in a little more interesting shapes. I’ve seen them made in candy molds, but again, I don’t have any. Any ideas?
A lot of the soup mould ideas we had resulted in practical rather than interesting shapes – but I’m sure there are interesting shaped potential moulds out there too :) I’d look to kid-related packaging – sweet (candy) packaging or toy packaging which is formed plastic around a shape. With Easter coming up, there might be a few egg or bunny shapes floating around for reuse.
Another idea might be to make your own moulds: I suspect Danell doesn’t have all the time in the world for carving intricate shapes but — and this is a complete I-have-no-knowledge-about-this suggestion — could they be made from something like salt dough? Could you make a sheet of salt dough in a baking tray and press fun shapes into it – again toys or magnetic letters – then varnish it to use as a mould? Please feel free to correct me if that wouldn’t work!
One thing to remember – there needs to be a balance between interesting shapes and usability. I’ve seen some new crayons made in star shaped moulds but I imagine the pointy bits would hurt small hands and be a bit awkward to hold too.
Any other ideas? What have you used for interesting shaped moulds — whether for crayons, soap or sweets? Have you made your own moulds from anything in particular?
I’ve melted down crayons of vaguely similar color and poured the wax into toilet paper tubes lined with waxed paper, to assure that it wouldn’t soak through. It worked well enough that I’d do it again if I get that many crayons again. It seems to me that any of the silicone baking equipment would also work well.
we have a rubber ice cube tray from Ikea that makes chunky ‘rod ‘ shape ice cubes for putting in drinks bottles. This would be ideal for you
YOU CAN SHOP IN FLEA MARKETS,CHURCH BASEMENT OR YARD SALES FOR THE CANDY MOLDS TO MELT CRAYONS IN. THEY ARE CHEAP & THERE ARE ENDLESS SHAPES TO BE HAD.
Melt them into old glue stick containers that way you can roll them up with they get worn down
melt them and pour into old chapstick containers too
I like to use plaster of paris and to make different Fun shapes I collected a whole range of “moulds” from Shops. A lot of Items come in all sorts of plastic shapes could they be used for this purpose?
Start in the Cosmetic section. I make chalks from the leftovers
You really make it seem so easy together with your presentation but I find this topic
to be actually something that I believe I might never understand.
It seems too complicated and extremely huge for me.
I’m looking ahead in your subsequent publish, I will try to get the hang of it!
Melt them and use to make different interesting shape. One of my thought is design all members of a family.
Actually, those star shaped crayons are wonderful for younger kids, as long as they’re not too large. The body of the star fits neatly in the palm of the hand, and little fingers can wrap around the points of the star more easily than they can grasp a cylindrical crayon. And you don’t have to worry about the points hurting – they get worn down into a more rounded shape pretty quickly with use.
My favorite crayons as a kid were star shaped, with each point being a different color.
I’ve seen ice cube trays that are shaped for cylindrical ice cubes (meant to fit into the top of a water bottle). Those would make some nice thick crayons to color with. Perfect for little hands.
Ikea and other shops do differently shaped ice cube trays – I have fish shaped ones which are ideal – lots of different shapes on eBay too
Hi there. You could use play dough with cling film over it and press items into it. Then pour the wax into the dents and there you have it. Random item shaped crayons! Items to use could be pens, fun shaped small toys, anything!!! Hope this helps. Lauren Xx
2 suggestions:
1: Pour melted crayon into straws lined with silicone paper.
2: pour crayon into small, square, (silicone lined), tupperware. When almost cooled, slice into square crayons. A sharp thin knife or wire(cheese slicer) would probably work best.