D.I.Y. Upcycled Crayons {in the form of Matryoshka dolls}

This week is my last week for projects for Sonja's Birthday {which is Russian themed}!  I can not believe my little girl is going to be two, although most of the time she acts like she's six... Anyway, I saw similar projects floating around on the internet and thought this would be a perfect use of my SILICONE Matryoshka ice cube tray {now, no longer used for food}.  I always collect broken and unwanted crayons and now I have a use for them!  A perfect place to collect such crayons is from restaurants' kids menus.  They usually get tossed if the kids don't take them home, which is a super waste.  The Crayola box below is not new, it was given to me since it wasn't getting any use.  This whole project {not including the electricity to heat the oven} cost me a whopping $0.00 since everything we used, was something I already had!

Are you ready to follow along? 

This project is also fun with toddlers because they like to break and sort the crayons!

First, peel the paper off any wrapped crayons.  I found an exacto blade works best to cut the paper if its sticking. Just be careful to cut away from your fingers holding the crayon {mine held the pointed tip, when I wasn't photographing the project}

As you can see the paper just falls off, as opposed to our previous ripping method.

Once all the crayons are peeled, break them into chunks and fill the mold with desired colors.

Baking Instructions:

Bake at 220* F for 15 minutes, then add additional crayons if there is any extra room in the mold, and bake for an additional 15 minute, if you do not need to add crayons then just bake for about 5-10 additional minutes, keeping an eye on them.

{my first set of crayons melted to about half way full. So, I had to refill them with the same amount to get a full cast of the mold} 

When they're soupy and melted remove from oven and allow to cool, placing them in the freezer is a great way to cool them off quickly!

As you can see in the image below, I used a mini baking sheet {from our toaster oven} to catch any of the over flowing wax, it made cleaning up a breeze.

Once cooled remove from the silicone mold and color away!

Above: the first completed batch of pink and red crayons.

Going to give them away to the kiddos at her birthday with some paper to color.

No waste, party favors!

Good Luck and Happy Upcycling!

You can also follow along on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, and Tumblr!

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