Give Those Old Crayons New Life With This Easy DIY Idea

By Mary | Senior Staff Writer

Mar 20, 2020 @ 5:40 AM MDT

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Have old Crayola crayons laying around?

If you’re looking for a fun DIY craft to do with the kids, Hip2Save reader, Mackenzie, found an easy and simple way to turn old, ugly crayons into fun, new coloring tools for her kids!

Homemade crayons are a fun and easy project at our house. We used the broken crayons that my sister and I had growing up. These crayons are more than 20 years old, but they upcycle beautifully!

Just peel the crayons, break into pieces, and melt. We use the IKEA ice cube trays. I will never throw away another broken crayon. Happy upcycling, fellow Hip2Savers, from wild and wonderful West Virginia!

Such a fun and frugal idea!

Thank you, Mackenzie, for sharing your Crayola DIY with us – we can’t wait to try it out with our kids while they’re home! ❤️

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Join The Discussion

onlinements 17

ImThatJennay March 20, 2020 at 5:59 am MST

I tried this with the ikea trays and it was a disaster! My poor microwave! The trays were stained and smelled like crayon wax. I had to toss it out. Not sure what I did wrong but they definitely didn’t turn out like the photo. I used crayons crayons too. So bummed!

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Amber (Hip Sidekick) March 20, 2020 at 7:43 am MST

Oh no! Sorry to hear about that. Thanks for sharing your experience.

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Melissa Rice March 20, 2020 at 6:05 am MST

I have gingerbread crayons. I used the oven. After I was done, I baked the oven for a couple of hours so it was safe for food again.

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Jay March 20, 2020 at 6:56 am MST

I did it last year on my grill. I sprayed those little tin pans with non stick spray, baked them on one of my older grills top rack with lid closed. Popped them out of the foil boats after they cooled, wiped em down and cut them into fat crayons. All the mess and smell not in my house lol. I had so many broken or short crayons with 4 kids and didn’t want to toss them.

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Amber (Hip Sidekick) March 20, 2020 at 7:44 am MST

What a great idea, Jay! Thanks for letting us know how it worked for you!

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PrincessMom March 20, 2020 at 7:16 am MST

If you do this in a food mold (like ice cube trays) you really shouldn’t use them for food afterward–dedicate them to being “craft molds” and you can also use them for melt & pour soap and things like that.

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Ashley March 20, 2020 at 7:25 am MST

We did heart shaped ones for Valentine’s day boxes at school once. Pretty fun and so cute!

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Amber (Hip Sidekick) March 20, 2020 at 7:44 am MST

Aww, Love that idea, Ashley! Thanks for onlinementing!

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Kaycee March 20, 2020 at 8:14 am MST

My mom did this when I was little with cupcake liners in a muffin tin, these always reminded me of Reese’s peanut butter cups 😂 but were so fun to play with

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Mary (Stellar Sidekick) March 20, 2020 at 8:24 am MST

Haha! So fun!

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jen March 20, 2020 at 8:22 am MST

Be ready to battle with trying to peel the wrappers on off brand crayons. Try soaking them in warm water, it helps a bit.

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Mary (Stellar Sidekick) March 20, 2020 at 8:24 am MST

Great tip about soaking them in water! Thanks!

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Mackenzie March 20, 2020 at 8:42 am MST

This is me! I place mine in shallow, simmering water. Try that instead of the microwave 🙂

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MombieZombie March 20, 2020 at 10:14 am MST

We used to dump the shavings out of the back of the crayon box between sheets of wax paper and iron them gently to make bookmarks.
Don’t remember how we did the edges or if we even did edges. Anyone?

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Amy March 20, 2020 at 10:43 am MST

I have the Crayola crayon maker that does this in the shape of a crayon and honestly have just played with it myself many times 😂

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Wendy March 20, 2020 at 5:24 pm MST

I have made heart shaped ones for my kids to give for Valentine’s Day and Crayola ones work the best. I used to use all the ones we got at restaurants but they gave off a chemical smell. I use a silicone tray and line a cookie tray with foil. 220 degrees for about 20 minutes. Don’t use the mold for food once you use it for crayons.

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roks March 20, 2020 at 9:38 pm MST

What a wonderful idea! I’m going to try this with my kids. Can the person who posted this idea please share what method you used to melt the crayons in the ice cube tray?

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