Recycled Crayons Tutorial

I love making recycled crayons! They a great way to use up those little broken crayon nubs that no one wants to color with. Recycled crayons are perfect for making texture rubbing art and are fun eco-friendly party favors. They would also make lovely homegrown activity for the "kid's table" at your next family function. Just cover the table in butcher paper and put one of these at each place setting!

How to make recycled melty crayons:

1. Peel the paper off of old broken crayons (this is a great kid project). We collect these broken bits in a bag as we find them. When we have a nice selection, we get cooking!

2. Find a mold. I use a star shaped silicon cupcake pan. This makes is easy to remove the crayons and gives them a fun shape! You can also use a normal cupcake pan carefully lined with tin foil. (If you are not lining your pan you need to dedicate it to crayon making, as it will be very hard to get clean enough to use for cooking again!)

3. Fill your molds. You may wan to group colors together (different shades of green, pink and purple, or primary colors). You can also fill at random for crazy combination. I like to over-fill my molds a bit as the crayons will meld down as they bake.

4. Bake your crayons at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes or until they are completely melted. (Enjoy the unique and strangely pleasant smell of crayons baking.)

5. Let them cool completely.

6.  De-mold your crayons. If using a soft pan, you can carefully pop them out. If using a tin foil liner, peel off the foil.

 

Check out your local thrift store for great deals on fun mold shapes! Personally, I'm partial to the star. You can get several colors by rubbing it flat, or you can get more precise by just using one of the points.

Gingerbread Houses

Here's a little leftover holiday magic as you get ready for the new year! (Who doesn't love an artfully arranged candy buffet?)

         

Gingerbread houses make a great party activity (for adults too)! It gives everyone a change to get creative in a very forgiving medium. If working with a younger crowd, you may want to build the houses ahead of time. When the frosting has had plenty of time to dry, you don't have to worry about not-so-gentle-fingers knocking down the house. You won't believe the creativity that these little structures unleash or the stories that get told while hands are busy. (Make sure you buy twice as much candy as you think you'll need. Eating it is half the fun!)

Dried Apples

 

I must confess, I'm having a love affair with my Nesco American Harvest food dehydrator! It's been a long standing affair (we're going on 12 years together)!


There is simply something so satisfying about taking produce at the height of the season and storing it away for the winter. Or, at least, that's always my plan. Usually my dehydrated treats get eaten less than a week after completion. But, who can argue with a snack that's healthy, homemade, and so easy to pack in lunches? Here is the jar of apples that I just finished from the last of this year's apple crop. I picked these Honey Crisp apples up during what will likely be one of our last farmer's market visits before they close for the season. These apples were huge! Luckily, they were also extraordinarily delicious, and will continue to be delicious until the last carefully preserved slice is snuck out of the jar.

Fresh off the Drum Carder

I call this one "80s Dance Party"! It's sparkly bright pink wool topped with tons of silk noil. Yum, fiber eye candy!