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Upcycle your old and broken crayons!

7 Comments Preschool, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade

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If you are like me, you probably have a ton of half-used and broken crayons laying around. We recently found a way to upcycle these crayons into something new, super cool, and way more appealing to use.

Note: For more awesome arts and crafts ideas, see my Arts and Crafts for Kids page. 

Upcycle your old and broken crayons! This is such a fun way to re-use worn down old crayons that kids don't want to color with anymore. || Gift of Curiosity

We started with a pile of broken crayons. The first task was to peel the paper off the crayons. (Yay for authentic and motivating fine motor skills practice!)

Upcycle your old and broken crayons! This is such a fun way to re-use worn down old crayons that kids don't want to color with anymore. || Gift of Curiosity

We then placed the peeled crayons into some silicone molds. On this particular day we opted to use our LEGO silicone molds and our silicone cupcake liners.

Upcycle your old and broken crayons! This is such a fun way to re-use worn down old crayons that kids don't want to color with anymore. || Gift of Curiosity

Once we had filled our molds, we placed them on a cookie sheet and popped them into the preheated oven. (Note: It should go without saying, but this part should be done by an adult to prevent children from burning themselves on the hot oven.)

I set the oven to a fairly low temperature – only 250 degrees F – and simply kept a close eye on them to watch how long it took before they melted. But it took quite a while to melt at this temperature. So I would suggest a higher temperature – perhaps 350 degrees F – but keeping a very close eye on the crayons.

Upcycle your old and broken crayons! This is such a fun way to re-use worn down old crayons that kids don't want to color with anymore. || Gift of Curiosity

Once the crayons were sufficiently melted, I removed them from the oven and let them cool for an hour. Then we came back and popped the crayons out of the molds.

Upcycle your old and broken crayons! This is such a fun way to re-use worn down old crayons that kids don't want to color with anymore. || Gift of Curiosity

The results were super cool! We are now the proud owners of homemade LEGO-shaped crayons! 🙂

Upcycle your old and broken crayons! This is such a fun way to re-use worn down old crayons that kids don't want to color with anymore. || Gift of Curiosity

It was fun to see all the layers of colors that resulted from the melting process.

Upcycle your old and broken crayons! This is such a fun way to re-use worn down old crayons that kids don't want to color with anymore. || Gift of Curiosity

And our cupcake crayons came out with a whole swirl of different colors.

Upcycle your old and broken crayons! This is such a fun way to re-use worn down old crayons that kids don't want to color with anymore. || Gift of Curiosity

So pretty. So fun.

Upcycle your old and broken crayons! This is such a fun way to re-use worn down old crayons that kids don't want to color with anymore. || Gift of Curiosity

And a really great way to upcycle old crayons.

And if you own silicone molds, you might also enjoy making your own soap with them as well!

STEAM Kids book

Looking for more hands-on activities that incorporate Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM)? Then you’ll love STEAM Kids! This book features 52 hands-on activities are helpfully identified by category (science / technology / engineering / art / math) so you know exactly what skills your kids are developing.

Grab a copy of the e-book delivered as a PDF download (or this e-book for EU residents) and in print at Amazon.

More resources for kid-friendly arts and crafts

More arts and crafts from Gift of Curiosity:

  • Tape resist watercolor painting
  • Coffee filter art
  • Crystallized snowflakes
  • Upcycled crayons
  • Leaf collages
  • Glue monsters
  • Chromatography flowers craft

Note: For more kid-friendly craft projects, see my Arts and Crafts for Kids page and my Arts and Crafts Pinterest board. 

Follow Katie @ Gift of Curiosity’s board Arts and crafts on Pinterest.

Filed Under: Arts and Crafts, Preschool, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 2nd Grade

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Reader Interactions

7 Comments

  1. Valerie

    June 25, 2015 at 6:35 pm

    The easiest way to peal crayons is to put them in a bowl of warm water . The paper will just fall off.

    Reply to this comment
    • Katie SG

      June 26, 2015 at 6:08 am

      Oh wow, I never knew that trick! I’ll have to try that next time. Some brands of crayons peel easily but others are so difficult!

      Reply to this comment
  2. Jamiela Ismail

    July 4, 2015 at 12:10 pm

    that sure is a snazzy way to upgrade crayons! the colours must so amazing when colouring in with them!

    Reply to this comment
  3. Amy

    October 5, 2016 at 7:29 am

    Cute idea! One question though. Have you found a way to thoroughly clean the wax residue from the silicon moulds so that they can later be used for making Jell-O or other edible treats? I’ve make homemade crayons with silicon moulds and have never found a way to get the remaining wax off! ?

    Reply to this comment
    • Katie SG

      October 5, 2016 at 7:59 am

      No, any molds I use for crafts like this I do not use for baking so as not to contaminate our food with non-food products. I keep separate molds for baking and other food products.

      Reply to this comment
  4. Shannon

    August 23, 2019 at 6:13 pm

    Could you microwave this project?

    Reply to this comment
    • Katie

      August 24, 2019 at 5:58 am

      I honestly don’t know as I’ve never tried it.

      Reply to this comment

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