Mostly on a Wednesday it's just us, Miss Pepper and I. The big girls are at school, her friends are at kinder and her Daddy is being a farmer. On the other days we have an activity like bush kinder or creative dance to occupy us, but on Wednesday we have the whole day until her ballet at three.
Today I decided to start the day with a trip to the community op shop. Let's let the op shop decide what we do with our day I told her. Let's listen for clues to how we should spend our time.
So we went. And we looked around. And we chatted to our friends working there and our friends also looking for treasures. And we found one Fowlers jar, some chalk, a fairy costume, a tapestry cushion and right up the back of the toy section we found a gorgeous, old, beaten up Cadbury tin filled with bits of crayons.
We quickly paid up our one dollar for the lot and scooted home.
We made one batch by cooking them straight in the moulds but we had trouble getting them out, so the next batch we used patty pans. If you are going to make some of your own I recommend the patty pan method, so much easier and so much less mess.
Also, I think I left our first lot in a bit too long and they ended up quite brown on the bottom. The second time we did it I checked on them often and took them out of the oven as soon as they had melted, but before they became too soupy. The second batch were much brighter and better.
Do you remember those coloured pencils that changed colour as you drew and twisted them? Just like that. So much fun.
It does seem kinda strange to make crayons from crayons, but they were scrappy old crayons and the journey of making our own multi coloured crayons was ace fun.
I'm super excited for the big girls to come home and play.
Have you ever made your own crayons from crayons?
Do you think we could make candles the same way but with a wick in the middle?
Have you found any treasures at the oppy/thrift shop lately?
What did you do today?
Later dudes. x
PS. For all those that asked on my last post; to the left of the Esse wood cooker we have the companion cooker which has a gas cook top and an electric oven. For hot summer days, for when we are lazy or in a rush, for when we get home late, for when we need more than two ovens.
My girlfriend made these but the directions were in American: 200F, she cooked them at 200C.......nearly set the oven on fire!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of going to the thrift store to see what the days adventure will be :) We've also made crayon muffins (as part of a gift) and I found the silicon muffin tin fantastic for cooking them, they came out easily. Happy drawing :)
ReplyDeleteOh, I hope I have am op-shop adventure like that one day.
ReplyDeletePlus I love the old beaten up cadburys tin.
That's fantastic. I've never thought to do that with broken crayons! Will remember this next time I sort through the supplies! Love letting the op shop determining your day too!
ReplyDeleteYes you make candles this way and you can add crayon for colour too. Just remember wax melts at a very low temp so keep an eye on it or it can burst into flame = very dangerous. I melt the old candles and pour them into chipped or cracked tea cups to give them a new lease on life!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea. I have made candles from wax crayons in the past. Dipping into a different colour at each time to make rainbow candles.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea. Love the crayons and love the old tin. What a great find and fantastic value for money. xxoo
ReplyDeleteThese are so much fun to make - we used a silicone mould the last time.
ReplyDeleteI found my 'find of the year' recently from the oppy, have posted it on the blog
if you want to have a nosey!XXJ
I'm definitely going to do this with my boys, they'd love it!!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like so much fun - I love it! I've never seen this before, and it's such a simple and fun idea. Something lovely... my big girl just came in as I was reading this and she loved it and then we saw your new cooker and were ooh-ing and aah-ing over it and talking about making a roast and a cake and bread all at the same time (!) and then we laughed at your wonderful idea to yarn bomb the black plastic pipes, and then my big girl announced that you are the most amazing creative person she's ever seen, Kate, and I agree :) I told her about you guys do and we clicked on the farm blog and had a talk about what heirloom veges are and yes, now she definitely wants to BE you! Thank you so much for inspiring my darling girl :) Kx
ReplyDeleteCool. This goes on the list of "What to do during the winter holiday " (that starts next Friday)!
ReplyDeleteMy treasure that I found...an old filing thingey that goes on top of the desk in a government office, those yes, it's going up my living room wall as a narrwo shelf, hopefuilly this weekend. All of R250 (± AUS$ 35?)
One of my primary teachers had a special tin for all the crayon odds and ends and then each semester we made candles with them. I kept my candles for years, for some reason I thought they were so special I wouldn't let people light them.
ReplyDeleteWe also made them slowly, so we could rainbow looking candles etc.
You can certainly use crayons for candles.
the fantastic ms fox! i recently spent our long weekend with my crafty accomplice who put me onto your blog. she said i reminded her of you. after my initial brief read, i texted her a thank you for putting me onto you, but a ? as to why the comparison, i wish! now that i have my eldest boy at school, my middle boy at kinder and my baby boy occupied with crayons, i have been able to read your blog properly. pretty much from bottom to top. i have thought of nothing else for the past 2 days. crochet is consuming my every thought. i'm wishing my knitting was better. i'm dreaming of a caravan of love tour of our own. but aside from the crochet, the knitting and the creativity, i find myself joining an emotional rollercoaster with the honesty of your writing about family. i struggle with my role of being a parent, i just sometimes feel i don't get this bit quite right. i have some great days, i have some too many coffee days. i love my boys with all of my heart, and i couldn't imagine being anything else but a farmer mama...but there are ups and there are downs. you put these ups and downs into such eloquence. when you talked about babies and being the parent without the babies - the tears began to role. i laughed along with the facebook post as i realised these freakouts are ahead for us. your thoughts are such honest accounts of this crazy parenting gig. i'm fairly isolated where we live, and we parent pretty freely and a little bit differently to most of those around us. for me, the blogging world is sometimes my world i escape to where the pages are people who sometimes think the same as me, share our ideals, parent similarly and who make their own cider! i found myself catching my breath with some of your thoughts, i was beginning to think i was reading a little bit about myself. i'm not very good at this whole sisterhood thing, i am but an only child from an only child. id never had a man in my house before my husband and our 3 boys. sometimes it all gets a little confusing. i don't have a mum to talk to anymore so a lot of thoughts go on in my head. i just wanted to say thank you for sharing your experiences, thank you for sharing your deepest feelings and fears. its nice to feel less alone. cheers, whitney
ReplyDeletewhitney i am with you. i don't have a mum i can talk to or sisters, we are isolated where we live, we parent differently to those around us, this blogging world is really something special isn't it? i have also found so many like minded people who would be my best friends if only they lived next door.
Deletei know! you ride their ups and downs just like their on your couch, coffee and yo yo in hand...your not a farmers wife are you?
DeleteIt's a great activity for littlies (and biggies :-) isn't it. One rainy day after seeing the same idea on Playschool we made some and the kids loved it. We used a silicone tray and they popped out really well. Though the silicone took on the smell (and maybe taste) of Te crayons so it's only to be used for that now.
ReplyDeletewhat a wonderful fun thing to do for kids ( and adults) and way to spend an afternoon.
ReplyDeleteYou're such a wonderful mum Kate, pepper's lucky to have you xo
We keep some "crayon rocks" (just smallish crayons) in a draw string bag in my purse - fabulous entertainment anytime we are caught somewhere we need to wait or somewhere not child friendly. I reckon a couple of your crayon muffins would work just as well!
ReplyDeleteCrayons as candles works brilliantly! When I was growing up (er, still growing up, but whatever) I went to an all-girls summer camp. One year, we made crayon candles. First, we packed bins with sand that we used to make lots of individualized molds in (the sand was a little damp, I think.) Then, we stuck wicks in the bottom of our molds before pouring melted crayon wax into them. So much fun!
ReplyDeleteOh that is divine! Did your little girl draw that?? If so, she is fabulous! If not, then you are fabulous too! I can't believe you got all that for a dollar! Our OP shops are much more expensive than that!I haven't been for awhile, but you've inspired me.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll try this today. That looks lovely and I know Roxy will adore it.
ReplyDeletethat is just the best idea i have seen with old bits of crayons. After reading some of the comments above, i think i'll try it with old candles though. where do you buy candle wicks? craft store I suppose? Have a happy day today. Jane x
ReplyDeleteWednesdays sound nice and the op shop melty crayons are so much fun!
ReplyDeleteIn answer to your questions: Yes. Yes. Yes! and today I am pacing the house as it is last day of school and soon my girl will no longer be a first grader and we are both a bit sad and excited. and then tomorrow we can start making things like melty crayons, walnut shell boats and babies, and a wishing tree on the regular during summer break.
Your Esse is so gorgeous, I am so happy for you!
xo
Must look out for beautiful old tins with crayons in my op shopping searches! What a great find and a clever way of putting it to use. I see a budding little artist there too :)
ReplyDeleteMy 3 kids draw constantly and would love this, definitely a holiday activity on the agenda now.
ReplyDeleteOh, we had that cocoa tin when I was growing up, now I feel very nostalgic!! Looks you girls had a lovely op shop directed day, well done! xx
ReplyDeletewhat a lovely way to spend the day.
ReplyDeletethanks for the p.s note... i am even more in love with your cooker now. going to show it to the man of the house when he gets home.
Great idea. When I used to teach kinder we would put crayon shavings between peices of wax paper and then iron them. It made pretty stained crayon windows. Might be fun for Miss Pepper to try one day.
ReplyDeleteYour op shop sounds so cheap lol, how did you get all that for a dollar,,,,in my area the op shops seem to be getting really pricey lol!
ReplyDeleteI remember when I was in primary school, we made candles out of the old crayons. I remember at Christmas time the teacher would collect up all the crayons and those that were broken or really small, we would throw into a pot and she would melt them down and then pour them into little jars with a wick in the middle and these would be our Christmas gifts for our parents. I don't know if they have changed the "ingredients" in crayons over the last 30 years or so but I was hoping to give it a go with our huge lot of crayons at Christmas time this year lol.
All for a dollar! I love it. Our country op-shop is awesomely cheap too, babies clothes 10c, kids books free! Not like the next town over where baby clothes are ten or twenty times the price at 1 or 2 bucks. I just bought a bunch the other day for $1.20 :)
ReplyDeleteI have pinned that melted crayon trick on Pinterest, I've got my eyes peeled.
Yes and Yes, I have melted Crayons in the oven before with the kids. It was alot of fun.
ReplyDeleteHave also cut up candle bits and boiled them down in an old pot. They worked really well and was alot of fun to do (I actually did this prechildren)
It looks like you both had lots of fun and the brown ones will be gret for Autumn and Tree drawings. What did the big girls think when they got home?
Oh Kate,
ReplyDeleteI really like your blog. My granddaughter and I did the crayon melting today. I love creating lasting memories of our time together.
They look good enough to eat! I just saw this on the community op shop FB page and thought you and Pepper might like to take part:
ReplyDeleteCalling all Knitters, Yarn Bombers, and Graffiti Artists Anonymous... We are organising Pom Pom making workshops in the Chai Lounge all week this week, to make our Winter Solstice Week warm and Fuzzy ... Making Pom Poms to hang on the trees in our garden, what a lovely entrance, bring your own wool and tools, or use some of ours... available all week in the Chai Lounge, DCOS 4 Albert Street, Open from Tues - Sat 10:00am - 4:00pm...
Yes, melted crayons are hard to get out without paper, you reminded me of this:
ReplyDeletehttp://beckyetal.blogspot.com.au/2010/09/crayons.html
So cool! My children would love to make these. A greta idea, thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this lovely idea!! We just tried it, my girls love it!! They made twelve drawings and a big mess in the living room.... :-)
ReplyDeletethis is fantastic. my kids will love this. on the list to do these holidays. thanks kate. xo
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