2012 Valentines, Part 1

We love the idea of reconstituting crayons. Since last Christmas, this has been made our business. Microwaving crayons, using a crayon machine, and melting them in the oven. We are given bags of broken, used up crayons when friends catch wind. We have a lot of materials to say the least, so when I see this idea on Pinterest 3 months ago, I pin it as a start to our Valentine making plan.

The Pinterest junkie that I am, I also find an easy way to remove crayon wrappers from Time to Play. Jeez, you can find any answer on Pinterest, I swear. It’s awesome. So the kids fill the process table with water…it’s already filled with broken crayons. They soak for a few days, the instructions say 10 minutes, I know, but I forgot they were steeping. A friend and I sit at her kitchen counter and peel away while the kids play one evening. There are still some crayons that are impossible to peal, even after soaking for awhile. Thanks Friend H, for helping a sister out.

The kids have been showing a lot of interest in helping in the kitchen, especially when it comes to using my knives. We are at the store and find some colorful paring knives that appeal to the kids. We get out the cutting boards…I very carefully supervise and advise, while they try their little hands at cutting crayons. We cut up lots of crayons, keeping fingers as far away as possible from the sharp side of the knife.

Then, we divide them by color on a little white platter. We choose our colors carefully to go into a silicon heart molds.

Put crayons in silicon mold in the oven at 230 degrees F for about 15 minutes. Let them cool completely. Pop them out of the mold, and you have the most beautiful, simple, heart shapes crayons you’ve ever seen.