How to Make a Candle out of Crayons

There are many different ways that you can make a candle. You can use candlemaking kits purchased at a craft store. You can use gel and wicks to create gel-based candles. You can melt wax and shape it to make basic candles. But this set of instructions is for something that's a little bit more simple ... and maybe a little bit more fun. At the end of these instructions, you'll know how to make a candle out of crayons.

Here's what you need to do to make this kind of candle:

o Collect the crayons. One of the best things about this project is that it makes use of something that you're probably not going to use anymore - old crayons. Once crayons get down to a stubby size and kids don't want to use them anymore, have them toss those crayons into a crayon container. When it fills up, you're ready to make some crayon candles.

o Separate the crayons by color. If you melt all of the crayons together, you're going to have one brown candle. Instead, separate them by color so you can better design the candles with colors of your choosing.

o Gather together the other materials that you'll need. This is really easy because the only things that you need besides crayons are just plastic wax-melting bags, candle molds and wicks. These can all be purchased inexpensively at a craft store.

o Melt the crayons. You can buy plastic bags at the craft store that are designed specifically for melting wax. Using these bags and the directions that come along with this is the best way to melt the crayons. You can put different colored crayons in different bags to make different colors of candles.

o Pour the melted crayon wax into the candle molds. You can pour one color in each mold to have several candles that are each a different color. Alternatively, you can pour different colors together into the same mold to create colored patterns inside of one candle. Experiment with the different options to find candle designs that you can really be proud of.

o Insert a wick into the molded candle. This is what you'll use to burn the crayon candle once it has hardened and is ready for use.

o Wait. You'll have to wait for the wax to become hard in the mold before you can remove it and use the candle. If you remove the crayon wax from the mold too early, it will lose its shape and the candle will fall apart. It should be completely cool to the touch. If you scratch at it in the mold, it should leave a scratch mark.

o Remove the candle from the mold. Now you can either burn the candle or wrap it up to give as a gift to someone else!

Making candles from crayons is a terrific project for families. It teaches kids about recycling because it puts those old broken crayon pieces to a new use. It also lets the kids create something new from a tool they use all of the time. And it gives the family new candles at a low cost.