Like many homes with toddlers as residents, our crayon collection is very often being replenished. The boys break them in half, press too hard on the tips, drop them, lose them…you name it. So, instead of throwing the broken crayons into the garbage, this fun Valentine’s Day craft will recycle old crayons and make them new again..and even better than before!
To make these adorable heart shaped melted crayon Valentine’s here’s what you’ll need:
Silicone heart shaped baking mold
First, I enlisted the help of my toddler, Little J, to sort through our crayons and find the broken ones. This was a great activity for fine motor skills, color recognition, and more! He loved this part. He also may have broken a few crayons on purpose just to add to the “broken” pile…totally cute.
Next, we peeled all of the paper off of the crayons. This part is the most tedious part.
Oh, FYI: The larger toddler crayons are much easier to peel than the normal skinny crayons!
Then, we sorted the bare crayons into the silicone mold grouped into color-coordinated piles.
To melt the crayons, we stuck the crayon-filled mold into the oven at 250 degrees for 15 minutes.
PLEASE be very careful when you open your oven to take the mold out! The wax is extremely hot, and in liquid form, so it’s easily spilled. Little J was only a spectator for the oven part of this craft.
When the crayons come out of the oven, they look really awesome. They need to cool for approximately an hour to completely set and be cool to the touch.
Once the hearts have cooled, it’s very easy to pop them right out of the mold.
On brown kraft paper, you can write a cute message to your Valentine, and decorate it with some stickers.
Then, just stick them inside of a clear cellophane bag, and staple the paper tag to the top.
These are perfect Valentine’s for preschoolers or school parties!
These are so sweet! I’ve made melted crayons in a mini muffin tin, but I would love to get some molds to make fun shapes!
We have done these before and they are so fun! I think kids even might like these better than the original crayons since they can color and be creative and the form easily fits in small hands. I love how you packaged these!
Adorable idea! We have plenty of crayons and a heart mold. Can’t wait to try this out! Thanks for sharing today on our Facebook page.
I have read twice on your blog about peeling crayons. Pop them in some water and wait 15-20 min and the paper will come right off!