How to Melt Crayons into CUTE SHAPES! {3 Ways}

Want to learn how to melt crayons into cute new shapes? Are you looking for a step by step tutorial on how to make DIY crayons? If you’re looking for a great way to reuse broken crayons this may be THE tutorial for you. We’ll show you how to upcycle that box of sad, small old & broken crayons into fun and cool crayons easily!

If you’re looking for a fun and creative way to breathe new life into old crayons, making DIY crayons is perfect for you! These whimsical and colorful crayons are easy to make and will absolutely delight children, tweens, teens and adults alike. It’s a great way to upcycle once unloved materials into something new and amazing!

So if you’ve been wanting to learn how to make your own DIY crayons or you’re just curious about the crayon melting process we’ll do a deep dive with a full, step by step tutorial. It’s pretty easy but we have lots of pro tips you’ll want to make note of along the way!

We’ll show you step by step how to melt crayons in the oven in silicon molds. We also have instructions for how to melt crayons in the microwave. We chose a mermaid silicon mold but you can pick any shape you like to fit your project.

We also have a free printable crayon melting recipe for this process and we’ll link to the FREE Printable mermaid bookmarks that you can also download just like you see in the photos!

This whole activity is perfect for a mermaid party, beach party or a summer activity for kids, teens and tweens (with adult supervision of course). You can turn these DIY crayons into party favors by adding them to a clear cello bag and including one of our FREE printable mermaid bookmarks.

DIY Crayon Melting Supply List:

Below you’ll find everything you need if you want to learn how to melt crayons in the oven. We used a mermaid themed silicon mold because we were making party favors for a mermaid themed party but you can pick ANY small, shaped silicon mold that strikes your fancy.

Materials:

• Mermaid Silicon Candy Mold
• Fine Iridescent Glitter (optional)
• Teaspoon Measure
• Crayons (can be new crayons or old broken crayons)
• Oven & Oven Mitt
• Old Cookie Sheet

How to Melt Crayons in the Oven Step by Step

Below are the step by step, written directions are below. I love how these upcycled, DIY crayons turned out! It’s perfect for gifting to classmates and friends. It’s a great summer activity for kids, tweens and teens. It can also make a thoughtful party favor!

1. Sort Your Crayons By Color & Remove Paper to Fill Mold

Before you even start to pre-heat your oven you’ll want to dump out all your crayons and sort out the colors that you want to include in your DIY Crayons. For this project I wanted to stick with a very specific, mermaid color palette but that’s completely optional.

Next, you’ll want to make sure that there is NO paper wrapper around the crayons you’ll be melting. You can peel those off with a finger nail or use scissors to scrape and peel them off.

PRO-TIP: If you have time, the EASIEST technique for removing crayon labels may be soaking your crayons in warm (not hot) water until the paper wrapper becomes soaked and easy to peel off.

Break the crayons into small pieces that will fit into the crevices of the Mermaid Silicon Candy Mold. Make sure you fill the mold completely. You may want to air on the side of over filling the mold a bit as there are tiny spaces or air pockets you can’t see which need to be filled. When the crayons melt down they’ll fill that space and possibly underfill your mold.

2. Pre-heat Your Ove & Add Glitter to Mold

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees F. Sprinkle about 1/4 of a teaspoon of glitter over top of your crayon pieces (try to get some into the crevices). While adding the glitter is optional, once you see the final product I think you’ll absolutely want to add glitter! It looks fantastic and glistens!

Place the filled Silicon Candy Mold onto an old baking sheet and place it in the oven for 15 minutes or until the crayons have melted completely. If you’re concerned about possible overflow you can line your baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Allow DIY Crayons to Fully Harden & Remove From Mold

Very carefully remove the the cookie sheet from the oven with an oven mitt and allow the crayons to cool completely in the mold. Do NOT remove the crayons from the mold until they have hardened and cooled completely!

After cooling, gently remove the crayons from the silicone mold.  Be extra careful with the mermaid tails (if you’re using this kind of mold), they will break if removed too quickly. As you can see the glitter really adds a nice touch! It’s unique & makes these DIY crayons pop!

How to Melt Down Crayons in the Microwave

We think melting down crayons in the oven is the easiest and cleanest way to make DIY crayons BUT you can melt crayons in the microwave. There are two options for how to do this.

Method 1

You will follow the exact same steps that we did for the oven above but you’ll want to place the filled silicone mold into your microwave on a microwave safe surface that you can easily remove (like an old plate).

Place the plate with the filled mold into the microwave. On high you’ll want to do 30 second time cycles, checking in between each cycle until the crayons have melted completely. Remove from the microwave and allow the crayons to cool before removing them from the mold.

Method 2

In this method we will add the broken pieces of crayon to a microwave safe disposable container (such as a paper cup). You’ll also need something disposable to mix the wax crayon (like a popsicle stick).

PRO-TIP! This method is also good to use for larger cavities or molds. Because you are stirring the melted wax crayons you’ll get a different marbled effect then what we’ve previously illustrated.

First, fill your mold with broken crayons to gauge the correct amount needed to fill one cavity. Then add those pre measured broken crayons to a microwave safe paper cup. Place the cup into the microwave on a microwave safe old plate.

On high you’ll want to do 30 second time cycles, checking in/mixing with a popsicle stick between each cycle until the crayons have melted completely. Remove from the microwave and quickly pour into the mold. Allow the wax to cool before removing the crayons from the mold.

PRO-TIP! Regardless of which crayon melting technique you use, the more crayons you use the more time and cycles it will take in the microwave for the wax crayon to fully melt.

How to Make DIY Crayons From Old Crayons

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Active Time: 15 minutes

Additional Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Estimated Cost: 10

Recycle and upcycle old crayons into NEW crayons!

Print

Materials

• Mermaid Silicon Candy Mold
• Fine Iridescent Glitter (optional)
• Crayons (can be new crayons or old broken crayons)
• Oven & Oven Mitt
• Old Cookie Sheet

Tools

• Teaspoon Measure
• Oven & Oven Mitt
• Old Cookie Sheet

Instructions

1. Preheat Oven to 275 degrees. Collect broken crayons and peel the wrapper if necessary.

1. Fill the silicone candy mold with broken crayon pieces. Try and fill each nook and cranny with pieces of crayon!
2. Using the ¼ teaspoon, sprinkle glitter on top of the broken crayons.
3. Place the silicone mold on an old baking sheet and place it in the oven for 15 minutes or until the crayons have melted completely.
4. Very carefully remove the melted crayons from the oven and allow them to cool completely.
5. Gently remove the crayons from the silicone mold.  Be extra careful with the mermaid tails, they will break if removed too quickly.

Notes

We think melting down crayons in the oven is the easiest and cleanest way to make DIY crayons BUT you can melt crayons in the microwave. There are two options for how to do this.

How to Melt Crayons in the Microwave

Method 1

You will follow the exact same steps that we did for the oven above but you'll want to place the filled silicone mold into your microwave on a microwave safe surface that you can easily remove (like an old plate).

Place the plate with the filled mold into the microwave. On high you'll want to do 30 second time cycles, checking in between each cycle until the crayons have melted completely. Remove from the microwave and allow the crayons to cool before removing them from the mold.

Method 2

In this method we will add the broken pieces of crayon to a microwave safe disposable container (such as a paper cup). You'll also need something disposable to mix the wax crayon (like a popsicle stick).

First, fill your mold with broken crayons to gauge the correct amount needed to fill one cavity. Then add those pre measured broken crayons to a microwave safe paper cup. Place the cup into the microwave on a microwave safe old plate.

On high you'll want to do 30 second time cycles, checking in/mixing with a popsicle stick between each cycle until the crayons have melted completely. Remove from the microwave and quickly pour into the mold. Allow the wax to cool before removing the crayons from the mold.

Please refer back to acountrygirlslife.com for pro-tips and an expert tutorial for this project.

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