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Community Corner

Crayon Cookies

An eco-friendly way to recycle your child's old crayons

For April Young at Art will focus on earth-friendly art and uses of materials.

If you are a parent of small children, crayons are likely an ever-present part of your life. They line the bottom of my purse; I find them in jacket pockets, under the table, and in almost every drawer in the house. Then there are the discarded crayons, the broken bits and unused boxes replaced by a new set. There is something so appealing to kids about a brand-new box of crayons, and, yet, it seems a shame to throw out the old ones. What to do?

Why not make old crayons new by recycling into fun and interesting shapes?

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Begin by peeling the crayons and broken bits—older kids can help with this and may even enjoy the process. Using a paring knife to slit the paper down the length of the crayon can help if you are peeling a bunch.  Next group your crayons by color. Think about color mixing: all the colors mixed together make brown and gray so all the crayons melted together will do the same. Instead group crayons into reds and oranges, greens and yellows, purples and blues. Mixes of colors next to each other on the rainbow will work best in combinations.

There are two ways to melt the crayons. You can use a double boiler (or a tin can placed inside a pot of boiling water) and melt the crayon and then pour it into molds. Candy molds or any kind of mold you can find will work for this method but there is considerably more mess and clean-up with having to pour the liquid wax.

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A simpler method is to bake the crayons. Use a muffin tin or other shaped silicone bake-ware—brownie bites work well. Place broken crayon pieces in each section and place in an oven at 225 degrees. Check the crayons in 10 minutes and remove from oven once the colored wax has pooled into the shapes. Allow to cool before removing from the mold. The silicone bake-ware works well because it is easy to pop out the shapes.  If using regular muffin tins, foil cupcake cups will make it easier to remove the crayons and keep your pan clean.

Some rubber molds sold for making ice cubes are not in fact silicone so be sure to check that your mold is intended for use in the oven. Once your crayons are made, set them out with big paper and have fun. Large crayons work well for shading or for doing rubbings of different textures. The shapes and swirls of color of the melted wax can be beautiful too.  Have fun with your new old crayons!

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