Wacky Wednesday #90—Crayons

Yesterday I baked crayons. Well, technically I melted them in the oven. But why split hairs?

Let’s back up a few weeks. At our house I can never find a pencil but we have hundreds of broken crayons in a giant box. Unlike permanent markers, crayons don’t wear out. So after they break, I keep them, thinking there’s still tons of life left in them. As an artist, it’s hard for me to throw out art supplies that could be used again, so the collection of broken crayons grows and grows. (Again, I am not a hoarder. I’m a practical saver of art supplies.)

The crayon fragments were screaming to become Wacky Wednesday accessories. So I used some fragments to decorate a crown, necklace and sunglasses. Other pieces I melted to create larger, usable upcycled crayons.

 

Until this week I’d never melted old crayons to make larger ones. I remember someone doing  this when I was in grade school. Why I can remember this--and not remember where I put the pencils—is evidence of how mysterious our brains are…

So, let’s review. This genius plan of mine has several bonuses:

1)      I’m creating another Wacky Wednesday costume I haven’t made before.

2)      I’m using up old, tiny crayons and therefore reducing the clutter (ever, ever so slightly).

3)      I’m giving old, broken crayons a new purpose.

Once I’d melted the old crayons I experimented with making art. I dripped the liquid wax onto paper, before it cooled, and I also colored with the new, giant crayons. It’s great fun.

This week’s crayon accessories are well-timed, if I do say so myself. I’d been planning this crayon theme for weeks, and by pure coincidence, crayons were in the news a few days ago. Crayola is introducing a new crayon color, based on a new shade of blue discovered by Mas Subramanian, a chemist at Oregon State University. He discovered the new pigment in 2009--the first new blue pigment to be discovered in 200 years.

The new blue has not yet been named, and Crayola is holding a contest to name the new shade. If you’re interested, check their website. Contest ends on June 2.

I’m taking next week off from blogging, but I’ll see you all again in two weeks.

The crayons and I wish you a colorful, creative day.

Now--anybody have a pencil I can borrow?