Making crayons last

When I think about Big Oil, rising gas prices, and global warming, I rarely think about my children's art supplies. But the fact of the matter is that many of those supplies, particularly their ubiquitous crayons, are made from petroleum. Therefore, their production contributes to the myriad of environmental problems we are facing today. How do I avoid being part of the problem without denying my children the opportunity to enjoy their favorite activity?

When I'm in the market for new crayons, I look for products made without petroleum such as the soy-based Crayon Rocks or Stockmar Beeswax Crayons made from (you guessed it) beeswax. The only problem with these crayons is that they're a bit on the pricey side. I'll happily buy these eco-friendly options when necessary, but I prefer to stretch the supplies we have as much as possible to limit the expense.

Like it or not, my kids come home with handfuls of those petroleum-based crayons from restaurants, birthday parties, and visits with the grandparents. Rather than waste them, we make sure we get our mileage out of them by using every last nub. Every now and again we go through the crayon stash and pull out any crayons that are too small for coloring and we melt them together to make new colors, new shapes, and most importantly, new crayons. Here's how:

Take a muffin tin and line it with aluminum muffin cups. Fill each cup half way with crayons (you can sort by colors or mix and match to make new colors). Place in oven on low heat (about 250 degrees Farhenheit) for about 10 minutes. Be sure to watch crayons carefully as oven times vary! Take muffin tray out of oven and allow crayons to cool for 30 minutes. Remove the aluminum liners and save for and reuse next time or toss in the recycling bin. Viola! New crayons.

One note of warning: Your new crayons will be the shape and size of a small muffin. This is great for small hands but not so great for itty-bitty hands that might mistake a crayon for an actual muffin. As a general rule of thumb, don't try this with children younger than three or those that still like to taste their art supplies!

Jenn Savedge's blog posts are provided by LifeWire, a part of The New York Times Company.