{Don't throw away those broken crayons!}

I am a crayon snob. I admit it. I usually throw them away as soon as they are broken. But I came across a cute idea to make new swirly crayons by melting the old ones! Not all parents appreciate candy being given to their kid on Valentine's Day, but more importantly....it's expensive! And as much as I am in to saving money these days I HAD to find an alternative to spending a lot on Jonah and Ellie's Awana classes and still provide a little treat! So I started digging around for the old broken crayons and yes, I even melted some nice ones, but in the future, I won't be throwing the broken ones away anymore!

Now there are tons of methods for doing this including the use of a double boiler and a lot of trouble. BUT, I believe I have found the easiest, quickest, most convenient method for recycling crayons.....and of course I'll share!

The hardest part of the whole process is peeling the paper from the crayons. If you're lucky you're preschooler has already done this for you!!! If not, grab a razor and make a slice down the crayon and easily peel away the wrapper.

Next, the part the kids really enjoyed, break up the crayons into 3-4 pieces.

For the actual melting and molding part I decided to use a Wilton Non-stick Cookie sheet. I found one at Wal-Mart for $10 (the most expensive part of the project, but I figure I can actually use the pan for cookies as well!!!) I wasn't sure exactly if it would work but it DID! And it worked perfectly! The crayons came out perfectly and easily with absolutely no trouble. All I had to do was turn the pan over! You can also use a mini muffin tin if you don't want to buy a special tin just for one project! I would stay with a non-stick one though!

We filled each space on the tin with the colors we wanted. Sometimes the colors were strategically placed, sometimes not. They all came out beautifully! And the colors don't mix so each color stays true to it's original hue! You can take a tooth pick and swirl them as soon as they come out of the oven if you want that effect, or make your own new crayon color! Who knows, maybe crayola will pay you for your creativity!

Bake your crayons at 200 degrees for 8-10 minutes, watch them until all the crayons are fully melted, don't burn them! It stinks up the house!

Pull them out VERY carefully, the wax is very liquidy and the colors will mix more than your desired effect if you aren't careful.

Let them cool for about 15-20 minutes and then just turn the whole pan over onto a towel or paper towel and you have new, recycled swirly crayons! Awesome! Now enjoy your beautiful creations!

We are putting one crayon and a black and white Valentine printed from A Kid's Heart in a little baggy for each child. I will also print out a label letting parents know it's not a chocolate candy!!!!

A little hint, don't try and use Rose Art or other off brand crayons, the generics don't melt as well, especially when mixing them with Crayola! When it comes to quality, go with Crayola!

If you have an inexpensive or creative Valentine's craft to share, link up!