Making candles is fun but being able to recycle items you already have to make candles is even better. If you have old or small crayons lying around, instead of throwing them away why not use them to make candles? Kids will love this project and it shows them other uses for their old crayons.
Let the fun begin
Materials needed:
- an old pan or double
- 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 would use an old pot or pop to your local charity store and pick one up really cheaply. If you go to the charity store, this is a great resource for glass cups and jars. You can buy martini glasses, champagne flutes, etc. really inexpensively.
PIN FOR READING LATER
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 of 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 been set 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.