The second life of wax crayons: what you can do for your home

New crayons

To avoid spending money on buying new crayons, you can make them from old pieces. First you need to take silicone molds and grind the pencils as finely as possible. It's better to grate them. In this case, the mixture will be more homogeneous. Next, place the material in molds and place in the microwave for 5-7 minutes. An oven with a baking sheet is suitable for this work. After melting the wax, it needs to be cooled. This is best done in cold water. To do this, you need to immerse the products in cold water so that the wax does not directly touch the water. Then all that remains is to remove the finished crayons from the molds. The procedure can be repeated again later.

How to choose wax crayons?

When choosing wax crayons for children, you should pay attention to the composition of the product.

It is better if it is natural wax. Such a purchase will cost more, but the result will please you. Information on the packaging.

A conscientious manufacturer always indicates the composition of the product.

• Age for use. There is usually an age statement on the packaging. If there is any danger from improper use of chalk, this will also be indicated.
• Best before date.
• Brand. A manufacturer who values ​​his good name and has spent many years promoting the brand will definitely put his name and the address where the set was manufactured on the packaging.

Decor on a T-shirt

If you want to revive your home T-shirt with an original print, then scraps from old wax crayons will do the job perfectly. To work you need to take:

• crayons;
• T-shirt;
• grater;
• cardboard;
• clamps;
• paper stencil;
• baking paper;
• iron.

First, you should grate the wax. Place cardboard inside the T-shirt and secure it with the fabric with clips. Next, you need to print the pattern on paper and make a stencil. Place the stencil on the fabric and fill it with pieces of wax. Place baking paper on top and iron the pattern with an iron. Then all that remains is to remove the stencil and paper and you will get an original print.

Unusual techniques for drawing with wax crayons:

2. Drawing with melted crayons

Video tutorial - Drawing an orange with wax crayons

Absolutely everyone, without exception, likes to draw in preschool age, and most importantly, such a pastime helps to comprehensively develop the child, helping to improve fine motor skills and imagination, patience and color perception.

In this regard, many parents not only do not interfere with children’s arts, which threaten a sudden change in the design of the parts of the apartment accessible to the child, but also promote their children’s interest in such a hobby as early as possible. In such conditions, wax crayons are almost an ideal option.

Candles

Wax crayons make beautiful candles for home romance. In order to make a beautiful craft, you will need to melt three types of pencils in different silicone or paper forms. Next, you need to place a wick with a metal weight in a glass for a candle and fill it alternately with wax of different colors. To get an interesting pattern, you must first pour wax of the same color at an angle and cool it. Then repeat the procedure two more times.

As a result, if you still have old wax crayons in your house, you shouldn’t throw them away. They can be given a second life with a little effort. With their help, you can make useful things for decoration, home improvement, clothing styling and original accessories.

Gel Variety

In recent years, gel candles have become especially popular. They are valued primarily for their diversity, stylish creation options and practicality. When burning, they do not crack and do not emit an unpleasant odor. You can use absolutely any decor to decorate these candles.

They differ from ordinary candles in that they cannot exist without a candlestick, since the gel does not have a dense structure and cannot hold its shape on its own.

Transparent containers, glasses, wine glasses, and glass vases can be used as candlesticks. Due to the transparency of the gel in a glass, it is possible to create an entire composition of a beautiful garden, shady forest or seabed. The most commonly used decorations are shells, starfish, beads, beads, dried citrus fruits or any other fruits, artificial twigs, flowers, small toys or figurines. You can make a gel candle scented.

Gel candles, made with taste and imagination, will be an excellent interior decoration and an exquisite gift for family and friends. Simple and accessible recipes will help you create this beauty without spending a lot of money and time.

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For work we will need:

• ready-made gel from natural ingredients;

• glass candlestick. It must be perfectly clean and dry;
• wick. You can buy it ready-made, or you can make it yourself from natural threads. For colorfulness, floss is suitable;
• tweezers;
• container for heating the gel.

It is advisable to heat the gel to 60-80°C in a water bath, or over an open, quiet fire. It is very important not to overheat, otherwise it will lose its transparency.

The container for the candle should not have a too narrow neck. Before pouring the gel into it, it must be heated so that it does not burst when exposed to hot temperatures.

If you want to make a colored candle, use food coloring or colored gel, which is added to the colorless one when melted.

Step-by-step preparation

Careful study of the step-by-step master class will make the process of your work pleasant and peaceful. In addition, the method of making gel candles is so simple that it is suitable even for beginner needlewomen.

1. We fill the selected vase or wine glass with decorative elements. It is better to place them closer to the walls of the container and take into account the distance between them and the wick. It should be at least 1 cm. It is also advisable to glue objects so that they do not float up or move from their original location.

1. Place the wick in the container, secure it outside with a pencil, as shown in the photo:

1. Heat the gel in a water bath until the lumps disappear. Do not bring to a boil. The composition itself is quite oily, so it is better to use a spoon when pouring it. Do not allow water to get into the container with the gel. Even a small drop of it can ruin everything. When the gel becomes completely liquid, pour it into a vase so that all decorative elements inside are completely covered. When the gel cools, it can be heated again.

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In this master class we used a ready-made composition. But you can make candles from the gel you prepare yourself. To do this, combine 10 g of gelatin and 40 ml of water, leave to swell, then add 50 g of glycerin. Heat this composition until dissolved, without bringing to a boil.

While this mixture is cooling, we make another: mix 20 g of heated glycerin with 4 g of tannin. If the composition becomes cloudy, simply boil it. Then you need to mix the two resulting mixtures. Homemade candle gel is ready!

In this way you can make a great variety of interesting candles. Even with the simplest coffee decor, they will look impressive and expensive.

Decorative items

From various pieces of pencils you can create interesting decorations.

Original vase made of pencils

To work you will need:

• capacity,
• glue,
• pencils.

The process of creating a vase is quite simple.

1. All pencils must be made the same length.
2. Wash the container thoroughly and dry.
3. Carefully glue the pencils along the outside of the container, pressing them tightly against each other.

The decorative vase is ready. This product can be used for both small items and flowers. It all depends on what was taken as the basis.

This way you can decorate or make anything: a pencil holder, a flower pot, storage jars, a napkin holder and many other things.

Decorating the frame

A frame decorated with multi-colored pencils looks very stylish.

And it's easy to do. You will need a base on the edges of which pencils will be attached.

The arrangement of pencils can be either arbitrary or unidirectional. By combining them with other materials, you can enhance the effect of the work, for example, use twigs of the appropriate size.

The edges of any interior item can be decorated in this way: a mirror, interior details of a children's room.

Applique Hedgehog

This application is quite simple and does not require much time. To create it you need to prepare:

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• white sheet of paper;
• colour pencils;
• pencil shavings;
• PVA glue.

Work plan:

• Draw a hedgehog.
• Paint the paws, nose, mouth, eyes and ears.
• Lay out the body of the hedgehog using pencil shavings in waves.
• Lubricate each element of the shavings with PVA glue and carefully glue it.

Colors

The modern color variety of wax crayons is amazing - some manufacturers offer more than a hundred shades in their palette. Of course, it is unlikely that you will be able to find a set with so many tones, and a child does not need so many - it would be more correct to call such products “full-fledged professional pastels.”

Children most often buy colored crayons in a set that includes, first of all, all the most basic shades. It should be noted that the colors of this tool do not mix: the shade applied on top will simply cover the bottom. This means that the number of color options in the set represents the maximum number of colors in the young artist's palette.

Occasionally, white wax chalk is also available, sold separately. It is more suitable for drawing on a slate board or even on asphalt, but in general this color is included in most color sets so that you can even draw on paper of any other color.

Fleece pencil holder

A very interesting model of a pencil holder. You can easily make it yourself if you know how to hold a needle or sew on a machine. Fabric colors can be replaced to suit the decorated room. Step-by-step photos will help you with your work.

What you need for work:

• can;
• fleece fabric in green and white (other colors are possible);
• green felt:
• scissors;
• padding polyester;
• glue gun;
• threads to match the fabric;
• needle;
• centimeter;
• pencil;
• decorative eyes (they can be cut out and glued from black felt or leatherette).

Manufacturing process:

Measure the height and circumference of the jar. Cut out rectangles from green and white fleece to size. On the sides and bottom we make seam allowances of 0.5 cm.

• In the white case we also allow for a fold at the top of the craft. Then we outline the bottom, add a circle to the joint and cut it out. We sew the covers using a needle and thread using a “back needle” seam or using a machine.
• To decorate the craft we sew 9 faces. We cut them out in different sizes, 2 parts each, 18 pieces in total. Fold it face inward and sew it together, leaving a small hole. We turn the face inside out, stuff it with padding polyester, sew it up and attach the eyes with glue.

• We cover the jar with soft insulation.
• We put a green cover on top. Cover the inside of the bottom of the jar with glue and insert the white part.
• At the top we wrap the fabric outside the can and carefully sew it to the green part with a hidden seam.

We glue faces around the decorated jar. Cut out leaves from green felt. We attach them with glue.

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The result is a very original pencil holder. Is it suitable for those who need to work in silence? without disturbing others. Pencils and pens fall completely silently onto the soft fleece.

Jewelry made from pencils

Bright colored pencils can be used not only for their intended purpose. It’s easy to make original children’s decorations from them that will delight the child.

Pencil bracelet

This decoration can be made using a hacksaw, drill and glue.

1. Pencils are cut into small pieces of 5-6 cm. The resulting scraps are similar in shape and size to beads. When working, you must try not to disturb the layer of paint on the pencil shirt.
2. The sawn edges are cleaned with sandpaper.
3. Holes for the thread are made in the “beads” using a drill.
4. Pass a thread or thin elastic through the holes.
5. They fix it.

If desired, such a bracelet can be supplemented with decorative elements using glue. The bracelet can be made more massive by filing the pencils into longer pieces. They will have to be secured in two places.

Using this technique as a basis, you can make beads, hairpins and brooches with your own hands. By fastening a couple of pencil “stubs” together in this way, you can get an original keychain or pendant.

Pencil “beads” can be used to decorate a wicker product made using the macrame technique. For example, a wallet or bag.

Tools needed to make lipstick

To start making lipsticks at home, you don’t need professional equipment or expensive equipment. All tools are easy to find at home and purchase. You will need:

• A container that allows you to melt the composition in a water bath. It is very important to heat all the components so that the mass becomes homogeneous, but does not boil.
• Syringes, measuring spoons, pipettes will act as dispensers.
• Wooden spoons, orange sticks for stirring the mixture.
• Containers for storing finished products - tube, jar.
• Notepad for writing down new recipes.

By combining components in different proportions, you create a new recipe; don’t be lazy to write it down.

Tools needed to create natural products