Candle Making

recycling old crayons for fund raising or fun

Dec 22, 2006 Mary Welling-Bonney

Do you have all of those broken crayons the kids don't use anymore? Turn them into candles you can use or give as gifts.

I did this with a children's organization and the children were able to sell the candles to raise money for their group.

Never throw away the old broken crayons. Keep an empty coffee can to toss them in when the kids don't use them anymore. When the can is full, the fun begins.

Materials needed:

• an old pan or double boiler.
• wicks
• glass cups or jars
• pencil

Remove all of the paper from the crayons. I don't like using my pans for wax so I get a pot from a yard sale or thrift store. If you go to the thrift store, this is a great resource for the glass cups and jars. You can buy martini glasses, champagne flutes, etc. really inexpensively.

If you have a double boiler, just heat water in the bottom and add the crayons to the top pot. if you are using an old pan, do not put the pan directly on the heat. Use another larger pan with a couple inches of water in it and put the pan for wax inside of it. It will float slightly. That is fine. You will have to watch that it doesn't run out of water.

Tie the wick to a pencil and rest the pencil across the opening of the jar or cup. The wick should be cut to just reach the bottom of the container.

Melt the crayons. You can do this in a number of ways. Really think about the resulting colors you want. You can melt all of the red shades and pour some in the bottom of several glasses. Next you might melt all of the yellows and by then the reds have set up and you can add a layer of yellow on the red. You might want to add a layer of orange on top of that. Continue until the container is near full.

Try tipping a glass slightly before putting the wax in. You will want it braced well to avoid spilling and burning yourself.

The containers that are wider at the top allow you to remove the candle completely from the glass and act only as a reusable mold. Others you can leave in the glass and use them as is.

Try adding glitter to the wax or put ice chunks into the glass before pouring the wax in.

You can also do this with the old candles you have burned down and give them a new life.

Experiment and have fun.

The copyright of the article Candle Making in Crafts is owned by Mary Welling-Bonney. Permission to republish Candle Making in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

christmas candle

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Comments

Dec 15, 2008 3:40 PM

Guest :

can you add essential oils for frangrance?

Jul 12, 2009 5:39 PM

Guest :

Using Crayons as the basis of your candles color.
Yes Crayons are wax but they will leave crud in the candle causing the wick to clog and not burn right.

2 Comments