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Friday, January 28, 2011

Upcycled Crayons

Upcycled Crayons. Perfect for little hands.

I went through Brooklyn's crayons and pulled out all the broken ones as well as all the restaurant crayons from Red Robin, Olive Garden, etc.

I peeled them and broke them into smaller pieces and separated them into color groups in old muffin tins. Then I baked them in the oven at 300 degrees in 5 minute increments until they were nice and melted. After they cooled a little I put them in the freezer to help them to pop out of the tins.

I forgot about them and after several hours they all looked like this! Oops!

I popped them back into the oven and remelted them. 
Apparently you can't freeze them for more than a few minutes if you want them in one piece. Who knew? Well, we all do now;)

Happiness.

Caramel Macchiato. Mmmmmm!

I love that the color is lighter on the top and darker on the bottom. 
It gives a sweet two tone look.

I can't wait to get these into my sons little hands!

I am linking up with some of these amazing blogs. :)

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31 comments:

  1. Marcelle @ Mimi & MumJanuary 29, 2011 at 12:01 AM

    SO fun! We will be trying this. :)

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  2. AnnaJanuary 29, 2011 at 1:45 PM

    Very cute idea! I was wondering why you kept posting on FB about peeling and melting crayons. :)

    Anna
    www.askannamoseley.com

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  3. Heather GabrielliJanuary 29, 2011 at 2:40 PM

    I have done this twice now! At the end of the school year a teacher gave me a huge zip-lock bag filled with broken crayons. The boys helped me make them for Darren's second grade class. We put them in heart molds and gave them for Valentine's Day gifts. Such a fun ideal. When they came out of the oven we gave them a little swirl with a wooden skewer, they looked so neat!

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  4. UnknownJanuary 29, 2011 at 5:50 PM

    These look awesome! I would love to make these with the smaller muffin tins to make them a little more petite.

    I would love to feature this on my blog! hummingbirdavenue.blogspot.com

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  5. Jayna RaeJanuary 29, 2011 at 9:45 PM

    When I was in junior high I used to do this, but add a wick, and maybe some scent. Voila! candle. Maybe not so non-toxic though. I am not sure. I don't think I was really concerned about that at the time.

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  6. leah mariJanuary 29, 2011 at 9:50 PM

    this is just awesome!!!!!!

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  7. Vanessa @ {nifty thrifty things}January 30, 2011 at 3:07 AM

    great idea!!

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  8. RachaelJanuary 30, 2011 at 5:52 AM

    Wow! Brilliant! I'd love to have you share this on my linky party going on now :) http://www.lovelycraftyhome.com

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  9. JanJanuary 30, 2011 at 8:26 AM

    I've been saving crayons for a couple of years to do this & still haven't...maybe soon?! ;-) I can have my 3rd graders peel the paper.

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  10. TanyaJanuary 30, 2011 at 2:52 PM

    Good tip on freezing to help release the new crayons, and also on not overfreezing! I'll have to try that.

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  11. AnonymousJanuary 30, 2011 at 8:15 PM

    Those are really cute. Almost makes me wish I had a little kid to make them for. Looks like a great idea for moms, as I remember I always had tons of broken crayons growing up.

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  12. UnknownJanuary 31, 2011 at 2:38 AM

    I need to do this. We received brand new crayons for Christmas and now the old one's aren't as much fun to use, of course. These would make great party favors, too. Thanks for the tutorial!

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  13. UnknownJanuary 31, 2011 at 2:50 PM

    You have a very fun blog! I just made some of these with my kids a couple of weeks ago! So fun!

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  14. Gwen @ Gwenny PennyJanuary 31, 2011 at 7:07 PM

    I love the look of these, Amy! I've been squirreling away restaurant crayons for a while now to do a project like this. They just look so fun:)

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  15. AnonymousFebruary 1, 2011 at 8:51 AM

    I love the two-tone look! And that brown one really does look good enough to eat! Thanks for linking up. :)

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  16. Cara @ Gardenview CottageFebruary 1, 2011 at 9:09 AM

    cute idea! I had 2 HUGE ziplock bags of crayons that I just threw away - drats! I'll have to remember this for next time.

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  17. BellawhoopFebruary 1, 2011 at 11:31 AM

    LOVE this idea! I know a few toddlers who these may make a good gift for!

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  18. UnknownFebruary 1, 2011 at 12:59 PM

    Great job...these have been on my "to-do" list for awhile now! I think they would make good gifts for classmates! Thanks for linking up @ Time to Shine!!!

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  19. ~The Bargain Babe from *Zucchini Summer Blog*February 1, 2011 at 3:17 PM

    So cute. Now I want to go make my own crayons and color. :)

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  20. EmilyFebruary 1, 2011 at 7:47 PM

    What a great idea! I'm excited to try it.

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  21. Robin AngeFebruary 2, 2011 at 7:32 AM

    I love it and would love if you entered my linky party at http://tinyurl.com/upcycled31 if you have any more recycled/upcycled projects please link them up and let your friends know. I am trying to reach 100 upcycled projects this week and I would really appreciate you help!

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  22. tinaFebruary 2, 2011 at 10:36 AM

    Jello molds work too :) My mom made them for me when I was little

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  23. TiffanyFebruary 2, 2011 at 7:09 PM

    I've done this too...so fun and so "green". I have melted them in tin cans and then poured them into rubber ice cube molds. I have made hearts, bears, skulls, trees, flowers, etc.

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  24. Macey at Olivia RennFebruary 2, 2011 at 8:01 PM

    Great idea, thanks so much for linking up at Olivia Renn!

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  25. BrandyFebruary 3, 2011 at 9:48 AM

    So Fun! I love how they are two toned!

    Brandy
    Gluesticks
    www.brandyscrafts.blogspot.com

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  26. Christina @ It's a KeeperFebruary 3, 2011 at 10:43 AM

    HI! I'm hosting a link up this week -- It's a Keeper Thursdays! I hope you can come over and link up!

    Thanks!
    It's a Keeper
    http://www.everydaytastes.com/
    http://twitter.com/itsakeeperblog
    http://www.facebook.com/ItsAKeeper

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  27. AnonymousFebruary 4, 2011 at 8:44 AM

    What a great idea! I'm going to do this today, my kids were just asking me about doing a craft. While they're making noodle necklaces, I'm going to make some "new" crayons. Thank you!! -Heather at 500dollarwedding.blogspot.com

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  28. raveninthewolfdenFebruary 4, 2011 at 12:54 PM

    I am adding this idea to my '♥Bookmarks' tab on my blog. If you wish for it to be taken off please email me at meomy{dot}socialbutterfly{at}yahoo{dot}com

    Thanks!

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  29. GingerFebruary 4, 2011 at 6:28 PM

    Its a shame my son would rather paint...Thanks for linking up to Mad Skills Monday!

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  30. AnonymousFebruary 7, 2011 at 7:48 PM

    Just wanted to let you know that I featured your crayons today! http://www.polishthestars.com/2011/02/link-party-monday.html

    ReplyDelete
  31. UnknownApril 1, 2011 at 7:23 AM

    great for toddlers!


    Feel free to stop by and link up to my Make & Share 1st edition today and come back every friday thru saturday!

    ~ Christy

    ReplyDelete

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