Alphabet Crayons

Laura over at My Montessori Journey sent me an e-mail wondering if the Letter Ice silicone molds would work for making crayons.  I had been meaning to try this, so Natalie and I did a test run this afternoon.

I peeled the paper off the crayons, and Natalie broke them into small pieces.  We filled each letter with one or two colors - each letter used 2-3 regular size crayons.  By the way, use regular crayons, not washable, or you will end up with a layer of clear wax on the top of your crayon.

Put the molds on a cookie sheet and then into the oven.  I set my oven at 275° and it took around 20 minutes for the crayons to melt completely.  Remove from the oven to cool.  Or, if you are making multi-color crayons, just turn off the oven and let the crayons cool inside.  If you move them, the melted wax moves around and the crayons sometimes come out looking brown, not swirled with colors.

Once mine were somewhat solid, I put them in the freezer to speed up the cooling process (because I am impatient!).  However, I did break a few when I removed them from the molds (H, N, S, U and W).  This is probably because they were a bit brittle from the freezer.  And maybe I wasn't taking my time, like I should have. :)  There is no sticking, though, and they come out easily. 

Laura mentioned these would make great birthday gifts, spelling out the birthday child's name.  I think I will also make a set to donate to the girls' preschool and kindergarten classrooms for their art centers.

Comments

[Kate]

How fun! I love the idea of spelling out a child's name.

[Nature Mama]

That is super cool! I love the idea of giving them as gifts :) I always enjoy stopping by!

[ToddleBits]

Egads! This is so cool! Thanks for the great idea!

[onemotherslove]

I LOVE THOSE!!! So can these trays be used for ice again after crayons or are they now forever crayon molds?

[jessica]

o.k, I must do this with all by broken yucky crayons from school this year! If I come back with alphabet shaped crayons I might just be the coolest person in the whole school (and the kids will love it, too!)

[Amy @ Let's Explore]

Thanks for all the nice comments! They are cool, huh? :)

ToddleBits -- The molds are easy to clean and reuse for ice and food. I had very little crayon residue left - I warmed my trays back up in the oven for just a couple minutes, wiped out the softened crayon, then popped the trays in the dishwasher. They came out great!

[Mommy Cracked]

These are fantastic!!

[mommyknows]

Too fun! I am going to give these a try.

[Tina]

I was reading Laura's post and had to come check this out. That's great that you tried the project after getting Laura's question. Can I ask how the letter crayons work for actual coloring? They are totally cute, but are they easy to hold? Do they break easily? Maybe some letters would be more durable than others?

[Melissa]

I love this! These molds are definitely going on O's Christmas list!

[Marie @ Make and Takes]

Love it! I've been wondering the same thing. I bought some flower silicone molds to do the same thing. Glad to know they work. And that Alphabet is Awesome!

[Marie @ Make and Takes]

Love it! I've been wondering the same thing. I bought some flower silicone molds to do the same thing. Glad to know they work. And that Alphabet is Awesome!

[Lani ~ The Wooden Porch]

That is so neat! We have a million extra crayons laying around the house. Thanks for the great idea!!

[rachelle]

this is so so cute! love it.

[Kati]

Love it! Now to find some ABC molds!

[Jaden, Steamy Kitchen]

wow, this is so cool! off to find these molds online.

[Carey]

They came out so cute! Ive made crayons like this before, except i used those aluminum cupcake papers in a muffin tin, and they came out looking like colored peanut butter cups. Very cute!

[kacey]

I ordered these a couple of days ago and they just arrived, and we have already made a few batches. I LOVE THEM. My daughter is turning 3 in two weeks and we're making crayon letters to spell out the names of all of her friends that are coming to the party, and we'll give them out as favors along with little stacks of white construction paper.

My only suggestion....I have found it much easier to melt the crayons first and pour the melted wax right into the molds. Now if I could figure out a way to avoid the little holes and puckers that happen when the wax hardens, I'd be thrilled.

I really love this product, and thank you for the speedy delivery!

[SBM]

Thanks for a great project!!

Does anyone have any tips on how to clean the molds after the whole process?

Also, I only tried once (so far) but broke quite a few crayons. I found it was helpful to gently loosen the edges by pulling the outer edges back and by squeezing the middle pieces. Would love to hear any other thoughts on how to avoid breaking so many.