Crayon Creativity

Do you ever have those nights where you can't sleep...whether it be from the fire alarm battery being low and chirping every 15 minutes...or your neighbor's dog trying to be your alarm clock?  

Well that was me last...and at about 4:00 AM...I had a great idea!

Back to school sales are still in full swing and I can't turn down a great deal.  

Crayons only costing 25 cents a box demanded me to buy at least twenty...

so now the fun part...finding projects to do with them!

So here's my idea...making crayons into fun beads.

We've all seen the scores of Pinterest posts upcycling crayons into molds...well here's a bit of a twist.

What you'll need for this project is :

crayons

silicone ice cube trays or molds

cans (I clean out ones after I cook with tomato sauce or other canned goods)

straws

utensils to remove hot jars

a pot to boil water

These are two of the molds that I used today...the left one is silicone and is great for making the bead crayons.  The alphabet mold is a soap mold that is great for molding crayons with, 

but too rigid for the bead project.

These are some of my canning utensils and they are great for picking up hot cans of melted wax.  

You can use tongs or pot holders too, but the grippers on these make it extra nice.

One of the things I hate most about making molded crayons is having to peel every little crayon...it takes FOREVER!  Well, I'd like to tell you that I've come up with a way that doesn't need this step!

Just sort the crayons according to their colors and place them in the cans.  

My kids love doing this...it's like a game!

Place the crayon filled cans in a pot with some water in the bottom and turn the heat on.  

I added some Mason jars with water to weight them dow,... it prevents the crayon filled cans from tipping over while the water is boiling.  If you don't want to do it on the stove...it's easy to use a slow cooker to do the same thing...or even put the cans in the oven on low and let the wax melt.  Unfortunately, this process takes a little while, but it's the perfect time to get the molds ready.

Take a plastic straw and cut it so the ends fit snugly against the silicone mold's walls.  

Making sure there is room below and above the straw for wax to flow.  

Repeat in all the cavities so they all have straws in them.  It goes pretty fast.

Once the crayons are melted, pour the wax into the molds.

You can see that all the wax melted out of the crayon wrappers and all that is left is the paper!

Allow the wax molds to cool.  

If my kids are really anxious to get them out I normally pop them in the freezer for a couple minutes.

The crayons should pop right out of the molds.  The ones above are just letters.

But these ones have hole through the center so my kids love to thread them and do all sort of lacing activities with them.  My daughter made a necklace using a shoelace 

and some of her new crayon beads!  

I hope you enjoy as much as we did!

Heavenly Blueberry Muffins

Well it's that time of year again when berries are falling off the bushes and just begging us to pick them!   Last weekend we picked blueberries and peaches galore, so I thought I'd share my favorite use for those blueberries....muffins!

A little disclaimer here...if you're looking for super healthy blueberry muffins...you might want to keep looking.  These are absolutely delicious, with tons of flavor...and about as many calories:) 

 But that being said...these really are a must try!

Heavenly Blueberry Muffins

3 cups cake flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups melted butter (3 sticks)

1 1/2 cups sugar

2/3 cup milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 eggs

1 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp sugar

2 cups blueberries (frozen are okay too)

First of all sift the 3 cups of cake flour with 1 Tbsp baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda.  Sifting it together ensures that it is well mixed and the flour is light and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, beat together 1 1/2 cups melted butter with 1 1/2 cups of sugar 

until they are airy.  Add the 2/3 cup milk, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, and the 4 eggs. 

Mix well.  

Make sure your berries are cleaned and rid of all their stems.  

Sprinkle the berries with 1 Tbsp flour & 1 Tbsp sugar.  

Toss them to make sure they are all coated and set them aside.

Blend the flour mixture with the butter and sugar mixture until there are no visible lumps.  

Try not to over beat the batter.  Stir in the coated blueberries.

Using a spoon or a large cookie scoop (my favorite) fill the muffin lined pans 2/3 full with batter. 

My daughter requested the flower muffin papers for fun!

Place them in a preheated 350 degree oven for 22-24 minutes.

A little info about cake pans.  If you have a dark colored muffin or cake pan, the edges of your muffins will brown faster than if you have a light/ metallic pan.  So if you're looking for a soft cake or muffin without dark edges...invest in a light pan...Wilton make a great one!

Let the muffins cool and enjoy...the hardest part is only eating one!