Crayon Melting 101: How to Make DIY Crayons Two Ways
There's one back to school project that I'm willing to bet almost all of us have either tried at some point or wanted to try: crayon melting! And why not, really?
DIY crayons are fun to make and anyone with kids has enough broken crayons laying around to tackle something like this. Haha. It's a great way to reuse broken crayons too that you might be thinking about throwing out.
This tutorial will go through all the basics of how to melt crayons (with two different microwave techniques). It started out as crayon melting 101. But to make things a little more interesting, I created different shapes, like gems, domes, and planets to make them feel a little more special and unique.
So, if you want to learn how to make your own DIY crayons, like these, or you're just curious about the crayon melting process, click through for the tutorial.
Cost: $10
Materials
- crayons they can be broken or brand new
- silicone candy mold
- craft blade
- disposable microwavable containers **This is an option item and will only be used if you choose a specific crayon melting technique that I share below.
Instructions
Separate crayons by color.
- It's really helpful to start by separating crayons by color. You don't have to group every color individually. I just did some basic piles - all blues together, all reds and pinks together, etc.
Peel the paper off of each crayon.
- Next, peel the paper off all of the crayons. I had a lot of crayons to do this with and eventually came up with a quicker method. At first, I just used my nail to dig into the side of the paper and get it started. That was fine, but it started to hurt my nailed after a while.
- So, I switched to using a craft knife to carefully slice a line all the way across the paper (hot dog style, not hamburger) and then the whole piece of paper came right off. I carved into the crayons a little bit when I did this, but it really doesn't matter since they'll be melted anyway.
- Disclaimer: Using a craft knife is for adults only. Please don't let your kids do this part. And also, for anyone using one of these blades, be careful! They're sharp and can cut your fingers if you're not careful. I'm very used to using blades like this, so it was fine for me.
Break up the crayons into small pieces.
- Next, break up each crayon into small(ash) chunks. If your crayon is whole, you should be able to break it into four.
Crayon Melting!
- Now it's time for the crayon melting. This can be done several different ways. I'm just going to talk about methods that use a microwave because it's the fastest option. Keep in mind, you can also use a stovetop and double broiler though.
- Crayon melting technique #1
- This technique is the one I followed for making the small dome shaped crayons.
- Take your small, broken up pieces of crayon and put them directly into a silicone mold. You want to kind of overfill them because when the crayons start to melt, the mass will shrink down. Place the mold, with the broken up crayons inside, in the microwave and microwave on high for 30-60 second intervals until the wax has completely melted. Times will vary based on how many crayons are being melted and the type of microwave you're using.
- This method works best with silicone molds are pretty small, like the mini dome mold I used. If you have a pretty big mold, you'll want to go with the second technique.
- Crayon melting technique #2
- This technique was used for the large circular DIY crayons, that look kind of like planets.
- Put broken pieces of crayons in separate microwavable containers, that can eventually be thrown away. I usually like to use only reusable items, but melting crayons really does ruin the container. So, I recommend using small paper cups or something similar that is microwave safe and disposable.
- Place the container (with the broken up crayons inside), in the microwave and microwave on high for 30-60 second intervals until the wax has completely melted. Times will vary based on how many crayons are being melted and the type of microwave you're using.
- For this technique, you can actually stir the crayon wax between each interval to help the melting process. You don't have to though. Stirring between intervals means that the color will turn solid, not marbled. So keep that in mind.
- Note for either technique: The more crayons that need to be melted, the longer it will take to melt. So, melt in small batches if possible to reduce the amount of time that each container will be in the microwave.
Let the wax cool OR pour it into the mold.
- This step depends on what way you did the previous step (technique #1 or #2). If you went with technique #1, let the wax cool without removing it from the microwave as long as you can. Then, place it on a flat surface to completely harden up on it's own.
- If you melted the crayons using technique #2, let it cool a little bit before handling. Then, carefully pour it into the mold you are using.
Pop the crayons out of the molds.
- Once the wax is completely dry and has hardened again, you can pop the newly formed crayons out of the molds. You can stop here, and start using them right away. Or try one last step to make these DIY crayons look like little gems and geodes.
(Optional) Shave the wax into gem and geode shapes.
- Shave short slivers off of the crayons all the way around, in different directions, using a craft blade. Again, using a craft knife is for adults only and can be dangerous. Please don't let your kids do this part, and adults, be careful. I am not responsible if you accidentally cut yourself.