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Making the Most of the Tucson Heat: Make Crayons!

Colorful Ice Cube Tray Crayons

By www.fiveseasonsinthesun.com June 28, 2012

From Fiveseasonsinthesun.com
If you live in Tucson you don’t need expensive silicone baking trays. You don’t even need an oven. All you need are ice cube trays, crayons and a flat spot in the sun.

Today we melted down some Crayola crayons to make colorful new crayons in heart and flower shapes. We used ice cube trays from Ikea (99 cents each) and a bunch of old crayons I had from my teaching days.

It’s easy! First, gather up some crayons. The labels on the older crayons that I’ve had around for years were definitely harder to get off than a few newer ones that I used for comparison. They were kind of melted onto the crayons. If you have a fabulous manicure, get someone else to peel the labels off or buy a new pack! J peeled half of one. I did the rest while she fiddled around outside.

Once they are all peeled, break them into pieces. Then put them in the ice cube trays.

Making Crayons

Putting the pieces in the ice cube trays.

Trays

Once we finished putting the pieces in the trays I set them on the roof of the car. I put them on the sunroof just in case the color somehow got through or dripped over. I didn’t want it to get on the paint of the car.

Melting Crayons

We left the crayons out in the sun for about an hour and a half. I brought them back in by myself because they were pretty hot. I left them alone but you could stir them a bit to get a more swirly effect.

Melted Crayons

I put them in the freezer for about an hour. Then I took them out and let them sit for about 20 minutes so they would be at room temperature before removing them from the trays. The trays I used were pliable, so I just popped them out and J grabbed them and added them to the basket. If you have a hard tray I think they would come out easily if you bang it on the table upside down.

New Crayons

J put them to the test and they worked great!

The ice cube trays are now stained with a rainbow of colors so be sure to use trays that you don’t mind ruining.

Have fun!

This article was reprinted with permission from www.fiveseasonsinthesun.com. Five Seasons in the Sun is a great local blog about exploring, learning about and appreciating Tucson (with a toddler).