How To Make DIY Christmas Tree Crayons
Are you looking for a fun stocking stuffer or treat bag idea? Making homemade crayons never gets old. Get all the details on how to make your own homemade Christmas tree crayons in less than 20 minutes!
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Making DIY crayons is one of our favorite kid activities. Kids of all ages (with adult supervision) can help with melting old broken pieces into new crayons. Here are the simple steps we took to make our own Christmas tree crayons as a fun stocking stuffer and gift this year.
How much does it cost to make crayons in silicone molds?
You can make all sorts of colored Christmas crayons in less than 20 minutes and for under $5! We were lucky to score our Christmas tree mold on sale for $2.99! Learn how easy it is to use your old broken crayons and make DIY crayons.
Recommended Supplies
- Water cup with warm water
- Old Crayons: Crayola crayons melt the easiest and give the best colors
- Oven
- Oven mitt
- Cookie sheet (optional to cover with aluminum foil)
- Silicone molds (this is the exact mold that we used)
Other Christmas Molds To Purchase
Make sure when purchasing molds for crayons that they are oven-safe. Some of the ones at different dollar stores are meant for ice cubes and are not oven-safe.
- 5-Pack Variety Molds Including Snowflakes, Candy Canes, Gingerbread People
- Larger Christmas Tree Molds: the same ones we used but with bigger Christmas trees
- Candy Cane Mold
- Gingerbread Men Molds: Same size as our Christmas trees
Want an easy way to shop? Easily click on links and shop a collage of molds on this LTK page.
Tips
Easily Peel Crayon Wrappers
Soak the crayons in warm water for about 10-15 minutes. Some of the papers will just fall off while others may need a little extra help. Twist your hands over the paper to help get more of the crayon papers to come off easily.
If you don’t want the hassle of peeling the wrappers off, you can consider buying bulk unwrapped crayons to use for your letter crayons.
How To Pick Colors
Using crayons that are either warm or cool together helped avoid a brown mess. Honestly, though, my children loved filling the trees with all sorts of colors to see what would happen.
Some of our favorites were when the white crayons mixed with other colors and ones that used metallic or glitter crayons.
Adding A Literacy Element
You could read a The Crayons’ Christmas before making your crayons.
How To Make Christmas Tree Crayons
Step 1: Take The Wrapper Off
Peel the crayon wrapper off of the crayons. Soaking in water for 10 minutes can really help with the process.
Separating the crayons by color will help you quickly fill the molds before melting.
Step 2: Preheat Oven
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 3: Fill Molds
Place broken crayon pieces in molds. It is important that you fill in the trees as much as you can. The crayons melt to fill every empty space.
Any age child can help peel and place crayons in the molds. Just make sure that they are being careful and supervised once you have melted the wax.
Step 4: Place In The Oven
Put your Christmas silicone mold on a cookie sheet before putting it in the oven.
Step 5: Cook For 9-11 Minutes
Cook for 9-11 minutes. Make sure to watch for when they are fully melted. You do not want to overcook them.
This is what the crayons looked like after 5 minutes into the cooking.
If you have one stubborn crayon that won’t melt, you can take a toothpick and stir it with the hot wax to try to melt it quicker.
Step 6: Pull Out Of The Oven
Once you see that the crayons have fully melted, pull them out of the oven immediately. The wax will be very hot and liquid.
Warning!
My children were so excited to see their creations that they really wanted to touch the wax. I had to really watch and remind them a few times to make sure they did not touch the hot wax.
Be very careful when pulling out the cookie sheet. The hot wax could slosh around.
Step 7: Let Crayons Fully Cool Down
How long your newly formed crayons need to cool will depend on the size of your molds. You will know that your Christmas crayons are fully cooled when they are not warm to the touch and have a foggy appearance to them.
Don’t Rush
Do not try to take them out too soon. You will end up breaking the crayons if they are not fully cooled.
If you want to speed up the cooling process, you can place the molds in the freezer once the wax has start to solidify. I would not try to move it while the wax is still a liquid.
Step 8: Remove Them From The Mold
Pull the edges around the mold first to help loosen your new crayons. Once one is completely cool to the touch, you can carefully push it out of the Christmas mold.
Pro Tip: If the edge of the back of the crayon is too sharp, you can use an old vegetable peeler to make it rounded.
Factors That May Change Your Melting Time
- The size you cut or broke your crayons. Small pieces will not take nearly as long to melt as larger pieces
- Different colors also will have different melting temperatures
- Your molds are of different sizes
- Your oven runs differently
- The brand of crayons used
Ideas For Gifting
These tree crayons make an awesome gift, party favor or stocking stuffer. We added these to holiday treat bags as a no food party favor for a school.
You can also turn this into an ornament by adding a string.
Craft FAQs
While the wax is hot, carefully drape a string in the mold. The hot wax will form around the string to hold it in place. Once the wax has cooled, tie a knot and place it on your tree.
Any brand of crayon will work, just note that each brand has a different melting time. Therefore, if you mix brands you will need to keep a good eye on them while in the oven.
If you take the crayon out of the mold too soon, then they may break. Place the crayon back in the mold and reheat it until it has melted back together.
Follow us on Pinterest for more free art and craft ideas!
Related Crafts
- Super Easy Muffin Tin Crayons-No silicone mold needed
- How To Make Easy Heart Crayons In Molds-follow the same instructions but make awesome homemade heart crayons that are perfect for Valentine’s Day
- Cookie Cutter Crayons– Our unique way to make this a more mess-free project.
We hope your family enjoys making memories together while creating homemade Christmas crayons. I know our family loves when we are able to make awesome gifts!
If you like this easy tutorial, be sure to give us 5 stars below 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 and have fun being creative with your family.
Christmas Tree Crayons
Equipment
- Oven
Materials
- Old Crayons
- Cup Of Water optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250° F.
- Peel wrappers off of crayons.
- Place silicone molds on a baking sheet.
- Add broken crayon pieces in Christmas molds. Fill each mold as high as your can.
- Cook crayons for 9-11 minutes or until the wax is fully melted.
- Pull out of the oven as soon as you see the crayons melted.
- Let the crayons cool until the wax has solified.
- Carefully peel off liner or remove them from the molds and have fun drawing with your new crayons.
Notes
- All temperatures and times may vary due to your oven.
- Check your crayons as they are in the oven and pull them out as soon as they are melted.
- Use broken crayon pieces that you know will mix well together.
- It takes around 20 minutes for the crayons to cool down before being able to take off the liner.