Hungry Caterpillar party prep: DIY multicolor crayons

I struggled with what to put in the children's goodie bags.  At first I was going to give them lollipops because that went along with the theme of the book.  But then I remembered that they were already going to get candy after bashing the pinata.  Images of screaming children on candy highs filled my mind, so I went another route:  DIY multicolor crayons.  (It sort of goes with the theme, right?  Colorful crayons.... colorful Eric Carle artwork? Ok...maybe it's a stretch...  Alright, you got me.  I just wanted to try this DIY out and I needed an excuse... )

Anywhoo... here's what I did:

(1)  I found a bunch of old crayons, ripped off their paper covers, and broke them up.

• Note 1:  My mom actually found these crayons at home...so that means they're at least 20 years old... ehhhh.... I think they're still good)  
• Note 2:  I had a tough time ripping off the covers.  So hubby and I ended up using a scissor to slice the paper right off.  Be careful!  I sliced my finger. 
• Note 3:  It was tough breaking crayons.  (Hmm, I sense a theme here.  I should probably go to the gym and work out my arms).  I ended up using my trusty pair of scissors and cutting the crayons up.  You could probably chop the crayons up too.  But I didn't want to get wax on my knives or cutting board.  

(2)  I put the broken crayons into some silicone candy molds.   (I've seen other people using cute ice-cube trays or cupcake trays.)

• Note 1:  You probably don't want to do this with a beloved tray.  The wax stains the silicone.
• Note 2:  I placed the silicone molds on top of a baking dish because I was afraid of spilling melted wax.  I spilled wax anyway...but at least it didn't get onto my floor.

(3)  Place the crayons into a 250 degree oven.  Bake for about 10-15 minutes (depending on how big  your crayon chunks are).  Watch them as they bake.  Take them out when the top layer is liquidy.

(4)  Once melted, take the tray out and let your melted wax cool and harden. (Mine took about 15 minutes to solidify.) 

• Note:  Melted crayons smell bad.  Really bad.  Open a window.  Wear a gas mask.  Do whatever you need to feel ok with this.... I kept reminding myself that crayons are non-toxic....*cough cough*

(5) Once cool, pop those babies out and admire your colorful handiwork.

• Note:  I placed mine in the  freezer for a bit before popping them out.  Some other blogger said to do that, but I don't think I really had to.

Voila!  An army of rainbow crayons ready to color the world!  Muah ha ha ha.

To see other things that we made for the party, click  here