We took a trip to IKEA earlier this week, and I picked up some new ice cube trays:

I got all five that are pictured because they were only .99¢ each.  I used the black trays to make some new crayons out of the all those crayons my kids peeled on the last day of school.  I found a neat pattern for some crayon wallets that I want to make here. I needed to make some crayons to go in them, so it worked out great!

A few tips when making your new crayons:

I used these in the microwave in 1:30 increments.  You will need to stir the crayons occasionally with a toothpick or kabob stick.

Make sure you stay near the microwave so that you can watch for melting of your mold or smoke coming from your wax.

Use Crayola crayons–they work the best (and not washable ones, they melt funny)

Put the mold in the freezer for 30 minutes after you take them out of the microwave to firm up.  When you take them out of the freezer, let them sit for about 10 minutes to warm up to room temperature before trying to remove them.

I also got some new alphabet molds after seeing some posts on Pinterest.  I’m going to use these in the oven instead of the microwave:

I’ll post pictures when I’m done with them!  I can see making these for my kids at the beginning of the year at our Writer’s Work Station or to make words with!  Plaster of paris–creating alphabet sidewalk chalk or letters for making words??

Kristen 🙂