5 New Uses of Crayons
Updated: Mar. 20, 2019
They’re not just for colouring! Here are some interesting uses of crayons for quick repairs or fun craft projects.
Uses of crayons: Did You Know?
Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith co-invented child-safe crayons in 1903. Little did they suspect these cool uses of crayons we’d discover!
Pretty uses of crayons: Create Colourful Candles
Here’s a decorative use for crayons: Buy plain white candles (like Shabbat candles). Heat up a bit of wax and some crayon stubs in a tin can. Fill an old pan with cold water. Grab a white candle (use tongs to hold the candle so you don’t get burned!), and dip it first into the hot crayon and wax mixture, then into the cold water. Repeat this process until you’ve got enough colour on your candle. Use this strategy to create pretty holiday decorations. For example, try blending shades of orange for a festive Halloween look.
Handy uses of crayons: Fill Furniture Scratches
Here’s a furniture-saving use of crayons for your home and garden decor. Do your pets sometimes treat your furniture like a scratching post? Don’t despair. Use a crayon to cover scratches on wooden furniture. Choose the colour most like the wood finish. Soften the crayon with a hair dryer or in a microwave on the defrost setting. Colour the scratches, then buff your repair job with a clean rag to restore the lustre.
Fun uses of crayons: Colourful Decorations
Here’s a fun project to do with the kids and a way to make use of crayons laying around. Make a multicoloured sun catcher by shaving crayons onto a 10- or 12-centimetre sheet of non-stick baking paper. Use a potato peeler or a grater for this task. Place another sheet of baking paper over the top and press it with a hot iron until the shavings melt together. Poke a hole near the top through the layers of wax and crayon while still warm. Once your ornament cools, peel away the papers and thread a ribbon through the sun catcher and hang it against a windowpane.
Economical uses of crayons: Floor Filler
Crayons make great fill material for small gouges or holes in resilient flooring. And crayons are cheap and easy to use. Select a colour that closely matches the floor. Melt the crayon in the microwave over wax paper on medium power, a minute at a time, until you have a pliant glob of colour. Now, with a plastic knife, or a putty knife fill the hole. Smooth it over with a rolling pin, a book or some flat object. You’ll find the crayon cools down quickly. Now wax the floor, to provide a clear protective coating over your new fill.
Fun uses of crayons: Make New Crayons
Don’t know how to use crayons stubs? Recycle and make old crayons into new. Peel off the wrappers from any old or broken crayons. Sort them by colour or mix everything together. Take a muffin tin and cover the bottom with non-stick baking spray or use foil muffin cups. Fill the tin halfway and place in an oven heated to 93 degrees Celsius (200 Fahrenheit). Take them out of the oven when they have fully melted-usually 10 minutes or so. Let the cool and then pop out them out. You’ll have a brand new, fat crayon perfect for little hands. Add some sparkles to the mix for some extra magic.
