it’s spring break around here and with me working some now, it is my job to make sure the girls are entertained while i get my work done as quickly as possible so we can enjoy time together. today we decided to take our old crayons and melt them into new ones.

first we started with the horrible task of removing all the paper. i put my youngest kid on this task since it’s what she is best at. she’s always peeled the paper off the crayons. drives me bananas. but this time, i assured her it was ok. next we sorted them by color for this first batch (second round was multi-color.)

heat the oven to 265° and bake for about 4-6 minutes – depending on your oven. i had the girls on watch with the oven light on and they told me when they were completely melted. let them cool for about 30 mins in the pan and then pop them into the fridge for another 30 minutes or so. once they are completely cooled they pop right out of the pan.

and there you have it! my kids love these. even at age 3 and 6, they still love the surprise of what color will show up on their paper. as for the rest of spring break, i’m not sure what the days will hold but this was a fun little activity. now i’m off to go buy new crayons!

when it’s 100° outside, what can you do? paint a tiny birdhouse…and some rocks.

the girls begged and begged to make chalk paint again.

so, off we went to the dollar store for our supplies:

corn starch
plastic cups
foam brushes
food coloring (which i already had)

to make chalk paint, just use equal parts corn starch and water (i used 1/4 cup of each) and mix them in a plastic cup. then add as much food coloring (the cheap drops work just fine) to make the colors you want. i made basic rainbow colors.

pretty!

i love the way the blue turned out.

i just put the kids in their swim suits and let them go to town. it seriously occupies them for over an hour. and don’t worry, it totally washes off – everything. i have the pool nearby for them to wash off in (and to cool off in this 100° heat!)

we sat outside and had snacks and painted. what a relaxing afternoon…

ah yes…so relaxing. i won’t mention the part about me walking in the house to bring my camera and iphone inside and my girls decided to get out the hose and spray the entire table (where my camera would have been sitting) and spray the back door – which is a screen – which means the water went all over the kitchen and i slipped and fell on my knee on my way outside.

oops…did i say that outloud?