Fun Kids Gift: Muffin-Tin Crayons
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Muffin tin crayons are so easy to make, even a kid can do it. In fact, FishChick3 and FishBoy9 were my assistants on this project last week, though I think they could have done it themselves. These are great crayons for toddlers to grab hold of, but even my big boys thought they were cool and wanted to experiment with them.
You will need:
old crayons
foil muffin papers
Lay out muffin papers on a cookie sheet or in a muffin tin. Divide old crayons by color into papers.
Place cookie sheet or muffin tin in warm oven (about 200-300 degrees) until crayons are melted. You’ll start to smell a waxy smell. Remove from oven. Do not agitate. Allow to cool completely.
Such an easy DIY gift!
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I used to do this when i was 10 or 11; I used cookie cutters to make the crayons different shapes! Came out perfectly!
I am 13 years old and I was thinking of making these for my 2 1/2 year old cousin but when i told my dad about he questioned the ability to actually color with them
If the crayons are better quality crayons, you can color with them. Cheap crayons tend to be really waxy.
The muffin tin crayons are definitely for younger kids who like to scribble. You won’t be able to do really, fine detailed coloring with this chunky size of crayon. Hope that helps!
I don’t get it, lol. Are they hollow in the middle??? i’m just picturing my 2 year old grabbing one and it crumbling. Am I picturing it wrong??
They are solid chunks of crayon that little hands can grip real easily. 🙂
Thanks for posting!! I really like this idea!!
Jessica- thank you so much for the answer. I was thinking about making them. They are so cute! I just worry about them. Reaching easily…..
Dumb question- as these are SO cute and I love the way they are packaged and paired withba coloring book, my question is….can you color with them? They seem to be cumbersome? Kind of confused….
Not a dumb question. They are mostly for beginning colorists, namely toddlers. The crayons are chunky but let them feel special about coloring. If you layer the different colors, like a rainbow effect, that makes for fun designs, whatever the age. Good point on the coloring book. It’s most appropriate with a toddler coloring book that has really big designs and wide open spaces or with a blank doodle pad.
I’ve made these before and I’d recommend using the foil muffin wrappers!!! They papers bleed!
I’ve been planning this as a Christmas project that my 4 yr old could do for my 1 yr old for some time. Today we finally made them and I thought I would just share a few things.
1. The smell of melty crayons turns my stomach. A day that you can open the windows might be a good choice.
2. Taking the papers off of broken and restaurant crayons and sorting the colors was a great project for a four year old. I collected restaurant crayons for several months every time we went anywhere to eat, I made sure to not leave the crayons on the table.
3. I’m not sure if it was because I stirred (strictly against instructions, but I was trying to see if I could stir the oily part back in) or if it was because I put them in the freezer to cool faster, but some of my first batch cracked. On the bright side, I just popped them back in the oven.
4. It IS possible to make a rainbow crayon. I did this just as an experiment to see what would happen. Granted, some of it is brown, but other parts are different colors, so as you color, it changes color. Fun for all, I say! I kept the oven temp very low and took that particular one out before I took out the rest. I didn’t want it to totally melt all together and combine.
Have fun!
I stole the dregs from our church nursery and had some fun doing this. The only thing I’d really suggest is actually use the muffin tins. Tinfoil is not fun to pick out of the crayons. I think these will work much better for our little tykes than those flimsy regular crayons. 🙂
@Miriam, The foil liners slipped right off for me. Did you use aluminum foil or foil liners?
@Jessica Fisher, I used tinfoil, not the liners, tinfoil was a bad choice 🙂
I second the person's comment about the cheap crayons – they don't work well! Though we used some glitter crayons mixed in with the regular ones and they came out lovely. Also, be sure to use FOIL liners, like the instructions say… we used some waxy paper ones, and the crayon leaked through into my muffin tin!
Terrific, thanks so much!
Jennifer, these are treat bags from the party section/cake decor section of Walmart. They are food safe and were less than $2 for 20.
It's me again. I'm looking for quart-sized bags or something similar for giving homemade granola. Thanks!
Cellophane bags – candy section of WalMart, Michael’s, Pat Catan’s. That’s the selection in my city – nevermind, I see Fish Mama answered you two years ago!!
So cute! I've been seeing ideas about giving food gifts in cellophane bags like the one you pictured, but I can't find the bags anywhere! Can anyone assist me? I found lots of 100 on Amazon, but I'm not that ambitious. 🙂 Thanks!
You can find it at any craft store, but the best is if you have a dollar tree store near you where everything is 1 dollar or less – I find tons of things to make homeade crafts and gifts there!
This sounds like a great gift. I have a granddaughter who is 18 months. Maybe I'll save this project for later. I don't think we have crayon stubs any more, now that my kids are grown. Thanks for sharing all the great ideas.
This is such a great idea, and really looks nice all packaged up! I only have one kiddo, and she's 9 months, so we don't have any crayon stubs yet. Some day soon, though…
I wanted to share that using the really cheap crayons doesn't work (or didn't for us). The oil in the crayons rose to the top and the whole top 2/3rd's of it was un useable 🙁 So I would suggest using some nicer brand crayons 🙂
What a great idea! My son's birthday is coming up and these would make a great party favor for the kiddos to take home! Thanks for sharing!
http://www.thedomesticcontessa.com
Angie, yes, that's how I made them. I didn't even think of using the muffin tin because you don't have to if you use the foil papers. But, you always could. Duh! 😉 Silly me….
My daughter and I can't wait to make these. Can you confirm–your instructions say to put the muffin liners on a cookie sheet? Is that instead of a muffin tin pan?
great idea!!!! i may be doing this next week!!! thanks for posting it!
What a great idea!! I love it!
I've seen these before…but yours is packaged SO CUTE! LOVE it!
Laura@HeavenlyHomemakers
I heard that the Crayola crayon maker was the "it" gift this year … for about $30. I read reviews of it online, and this is certainly a better way to go. One reviewer recommended using silicon molds for other shapes and not to mix more than two colors together at a time. Great idea! Thanks for posting this.