How can I reuse or recycle old crayons?
On a random old post, Kinna asked:
how can I use old crayons?
On another random old post, I mentioned a great tutorial I found to melt down old stubs of crayons into fun shapes and someone else mentioned using wax crayons along with old candles to do encaustic painting.
If the crayons are still like new, just, say, an undesirable colour, you could follow in the footsteps of Herb Williams and use them for sculptures: I linked to his work on Things To Do Today a couple of months ago – very cool stuff.
Any other ideas for crayons and the annoying stubs of nearly used-up crayons?
(Photo by itshears)
Some new uses:
1. Melt it: Crayon Ring
2. Smash it: Add it as additional color sprinkles to recycled paper project
In the US, we have the National Crayon Recycle Prograom – http://www.crazycrayons.com/recycle_program.html
Try to donate them to some kindergarten in nearby
I did something just like this recently and LOVED how they turned out. I hope to get a few more batches from local teachers and make more this summer.
Recycled Crayons – OnOurWay
Meg – Onourwayonline.com
If you have several thousand hours on your hands, why not turn your hand to crayon sculpture!:
Brace yourself for this epic link:
http://inventorspot.com/articles/crayon_art_12379
When I was little my mother had us make “stained glass windows” withe shaved crayons. You sprinkle the shavings on wax paper then put another sheet on top and iron ( low heat ) until the wax is melted. Thats one of my favorite childhood memories.
You can also make new crayons! If the are old and broken (and even if they are not i guess) melt them all down in one pot. carefully stir a couple times to get a multi-color swirl effect and pour into a mold. Be careful not to over stir or you will end up with a lot of brown crayons. GREAT gift for kids.
I am a school teacher and I take all of the classroom crayons that are broken to bits and I put them inside cardboard egg cartons. I leave these out in the sunlight until they melt. When I need to start a fire, I just tear off a single section, light it, and set it under wood or charcoal. This starts a fire quickly without lighter fluid and gives a new life to crayons and egg cartons.
Not too long ago I came up with what I thought was a pretty neat use for old crayons. Schools, day cares, churches, etc… They all use crayons and generally they have a lot of left over “little” crayon pieces. Instead of throwing them out, I’d ask for old pieces in exchange for a new box. I take the paper off the old crayons and then melt them down and pour into a candy mold. I’ve also used cupcake pan and put multiple colors in each circle.. pop it in the oven.. once melted and cooled you have a rainbow effect! Makes neat swirls and is easy to grab for the kids. They candy molds would make really cute stars, trucks, etc. A great way to recycle crayons!!
melt into one big huge super crayon
maybe
make a candle with them. last year we grated multicoloured crayons onto an old chopping board and rolled partly molten candles in the multicoloured mixture. looks dead cool when done.
Crayon Vases: Make a vase from crayons!
http://www.dailydanny.com/?p=3605
Melt them, make new crayons.
This has probably been suggested before, but here’s a link to detailed instructions (with pictures):
http://livingwithlindsay.com/2009/12/teach-me-tuesday-creative-crayons.html