Something new made from something old. Is there anything better? Recycling crayons is a favorite project of ours – we still love and use the flower crayons that we made last year! These valentines can be made using materials you already have and the card is recyclable, so it’s a great sustainable and low waste option. The process that we used here is the same as the one we used for the flower crayons only this time we opted to make thicker, Waldorf style block crayons. We filled our molds a bit higher this time and adjusted our baking time accordingly. You can adjust the amount of crayons that you use and the height that you fill each mold up to depending on your desired final number and/or thickness. The beauty of these is that you can really use anything you already have with great results. These heart crayons measure 1.5” and our completed valentine card measures approximately 3” x 3.5”
Materials:
– heart silicone mold (or use any silicone mold you already have)
– crayons
– cardstock or cardboard
– alphabet stamps
– washi tape
Instructions to make recycled crayon valentines:
Step 1: Make the Crayons
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees F. Remove the paper wrappers from the crayons and break any larger ones into smaller pieces. Fill each mold with the small pieces of crayons, overfilling each mold. The crayons will melt down, so you want to fill them a bit higher than your desired height. Place the mold on top of a cookie sheet and place in the pre-heated oven for 15-30 minutes, until all of the crayons are completely melted. This specific mold took around 30 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let cool at room temperature until completely hardened. Once they’ve cooled, flip the mold over and remove each crayon. You can also refer to the DIY Recycled Flower Crayons blog post, as the process is the same.
Step 2: How to assemble the valentines
1. Cut rectangles out of your cardstock or cardboard.
2. Use alphabet stamps to write your message (or hand write it!)
3. Attach one crayons to the front of each valentine using a piece of washi tape.
4. Have your child write their name on the bottom!
Becca says
Absolutely love this idea. 😍
Woodlark says
Thank you Becca! I hope you and your family have the opportunity to make them!
Kim says
Super cute ideas you have! I’m worried about the crayons leaking in my oven! Did you use the heart mold you hyperlinked? Your mold looks bigger than the one linked. What is the measurement? 🙂
Woodlark says
Hi Kim,
Yes, we use the exact heart mold that is linked on the materials list. The crayon bits will melt down significantly and we’ve never had any issues with leaking. If you are concerned you can always place a piece of parchment paper underneath the mold when placing it on top of the cookie sheet.
– Ashley
Christine says
random question but what crayons did you use , does it matter? i’m looking on amazon for multipacks without the paper but the quality doesn’t look as good
thanks!
Woodlark says
Hi Christine,
I’ve found that name brand (i.e. Crayola) crayons do work best
– Ashley
Ali says
Have you tried coloring with the crayon hearts? Just thinking that could be extra fun- for recipients to receive the valentine and then can use it to color! But I don’t know how melting them would affect how well they would color..do you know?
Woodlark says
Hi Ali,
Yes, they’re meant to be used like store bought crayons and color normally. They’re fun to use because the color will change depending on which section of the crayon you color with.
– Ashley
Kristine says
I love this idea! We tried it but the wax separated from the pigment part of the crayon so the back is a layer of more translucent wax and the front is the opaque color. Has this happened to you and is there something I’m doing wrong?
Woodlark says
Hi Kristine,
Is there a lot of separation? Sometimes a little bit will occur and you can simply shave/cut those back layers off.
– Ashley