How to Make a Marbleized Crayon Egg (Tutorial)

Even though I've been flying under the radar lately, that doesn't mean I haven't been procrastinating by doing things like peeling paper off of crayons in order to make melted crayon eggs. I can't wait to put these in the kids' Easter baskets.

Making them was really inexpensive. I didn't have to go out and buy egg molds. In a perfect world, I wouldn't have had to go out and buy crayons either. But my kids don't draw enough to have a ton of half-used crayons without wrappers. The part of this project that took the longest was probably unwrapping all the crayons. But it was worth it, because I'm kind of obsessed with how cute these crayon eggs are.

To make them, first you have to hollow out some eggs. Save the yolks and whites. Make an omelet or two.

To hollow out eggs, poke a hole in one end with a nail. You can hammer it in, holding the egg in your hand, or just push really hard. (After the first two, you won't break anymore, I promise.) Poke a bigger hole in the other end with the nail, peeling away shell until you have a hole about 1/2 an inch in diameter. I poked the small hole in the top of the egg and the large hole in the bottom. It doesn't really matter how big the big hole gets. You're going to stuff your crayons in here anyway. Holding the egg over a bowl, blow through the small hole. The insides will end up in the bowl, and you'll end up with a delicate eggshell. Put that in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes to kill any bacteria.

After the eggs are hollowed out, boiled and dried, tape up the small hole with masking tape. Make sure to seal it really well or the wax will leak out. Coat the inside of the egg with petroleum jelly by sticking your finger in the big hole and rubbing it around the inside. (Sorry, there's just no pretty way to say that).

Next, peel your crayons. If you're smart, you've saved all of the crayon bits your kids leave in the bottom of your crayon bucket, and you won't have to spend time (and fingernails) doing this. Since I bought new crayons at the dollar store, I steamed them over the boiling egg water to make the paper easier to take off.

Next, seat your eggs in a tin foil nest. I did this in some ramekins, but you can use a muffin tin if you're doing a lot at once. Take a wad of foil, place the egg in the center, and bunch the foil around the egg, then nestle it into the container in which you'll bake it. (Make sure the container is oven safe).

Cut up or break your crayons and drop them into the hole in the egg until they reach the top. Bake in a 300 degree oven for 5-10 minutes or until the wax is completely melted. See the melted wax in there? You'll have to top it off with some more crayons. This time, put it in the oven for only 4-5 minutes. It will melt faster. Do this until the wax reaches the top of the egg, then leave the eggs out for 24 hours to cool and harden completely. I used about 6 crayons per egg, I think.

Now for the unveiling! After 24 hours, peel away the egg shell.

Drool and fawn over your beautiful marbleized eggs before giving them to your kids and letting them mess up all of your hard work.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: 2012 New Year's Coloring Page

One of my resolutions for the new year was to make more art. This includes the things I sew for my Etsy shop, but it also includes drawing. I have done several custom watercolor portraits over the past few years, but I haven't just sat down, relaxed, and doodled. One of the ways I'm going to keep this up during the year is by making coloring pages. Scroll to the end of the post to get your free 2012 New Year's Coloring Page!

In an attempt to get some pictures of Baby T actually coloring it, I set it down while he was eating breakfast.

See the coloring page next to the breakfast?

No mom! Don't take my picture!

Giving me a look.

Running and hiding and hamming it up.

A little later... still doesn't want his picture taken.

I don't want to say cheese!

Nooooooo!!!!

Even Little M was in on the cranky action.

So I colored it myself.

To get a free printable coloring sheet for your child (or yourself,) just CLICK HERE. The PDF file includes a coloring sheet as well as project ideas for parents to interact with their kids while they're coloring. Feel free to download and save it to your computer or print it--it's yours!


Check out other wonderful Wordless Wednesday posts and link up at:

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: DIY Christmas Gifts

I had all of my holiday stress right before Thanksgiving. All self-inflicted, of course. I was getting together with family, and we were exchanging gifts for the kids. So naturally I had to make most of my gifts. Some were more complicated than others, but they were all inexpensive (or free) to make.

If you're lucky, I might elaborate on some of these at some point, but for now, check out these pictures of some DIY Christmas gift ideas for kids.

Cookie sheet, magnet clip, coupon file, and food storage container from the dollar store. Scrabble tiles from a game on sale at Walmart. Super glued magnets (from a magnet strip bought at Walmart) onto the coupon file, scrabble tiles, and plastic container and painted the cookie sheet with chalkboard paint. I put crayons, chalk, index cards (to stick in the magnet clip and draw on), and a paintbrush into the coupon file. Baby T really liked using the paintbrush to blend his chalk drawings. This is perfect for the car.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Felt board Friday

A few weeks ago, four of my friends and I got together to make felt boards for our kids. After realizing that we were not organized enough to actually let our kids help out, we decided to let the kids play while the mommies made the felt boards for them. (I know, but it's not a perfect world).

We met at my house on Friday morning, made some breakfast, let the kids run wild, and made some felt boards. I had cut the felt into long rectangles beforehand, and the first thing we did was fold them and sew yarn to close up the two long edges. One of the short edges was left open so we could slip in pieces of cut plexiglas to make the boards rigid. Then, we went to town cutting felt shapes for our kids.

This is what a felt board Friday looks like. Is it strange that there are only 2 pictures of us working on the felt boards themselves?

Turn Anything into an Activity

Since my Sunday Surf post about online toddler games, Baby T has really mastered using the mouse. I had a comment that Starfall.com was a good resource for online toddler games, and it's amazing how perfect it is. It's engaging and just challenging enough to keep Baby T's attention and make him feel like he can do it by himself without getting frustrated.

Make Your Own Montessori Sandpaper Letters

Okay--they are made of felt, not sandpaper. And to give your child a really well-rounded experience when learning letters, they should be lower case and upper case. But this is a start.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: A Craft Project with a Toddler

Toddlers have the attention span of--well, a toddler. Baby T loves to do projects, though, so we're always working on crafts. But it's not usually a linear event. This is how doing a craft project with a toddler normally goes in my house.

The project required painting paper plates. Baby T just
wanted to squeeze the paint onto the plates.

Sunday Surf - Money, Chores, and a Green Halloween

I've been slacking on Sunday Surf posts lately because--well, because I've been slacking. My week starts on Monday and it starts off strong. I peter out and sit around and eat chocolate chip cookies and drink beer on Sundays.

But this week, the Carnival of Natural Parenting posts went up, and they dealt with money matters. I learned a lot, and I still am not done reading them all. I've also been doing some research about Halloween crafts and decorations. I've never been into holidays or decorating, but now that I have kids, it's so fun to do projects with them.

Here's a little shout out to the what I read this week.

Creating With Kids - Don't Bite off More than you can Chew

Welcome to the August Carnival of Natural Parenting: Creating With Kids
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared how they make messes and masterpieces with children. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
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When Baby T came home from daycare and his daily "report" said, "Baby T liked painting, but we had to put away the paints because he only wanted to paint his arms," I thought, what do you expect? He's two.

Doing crafts with kids isn't about a pretty result; it's usually about exploring materials and using all the senses. Give your kids the tools and stand back to witness the masterpiece. Then, give them a bath and start all over the next day.

Read more about how to create with kids on my guest post at Natural Parents Network!


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Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

• Family Draw Time Art Show — Kate Wicker shares art (and inspiration!) from her family's cherished tradition of family draw time.
• The Rules of Creativity: Learning to Create with the "Non-Creative" — Zoe at Give an Earthly shares how she learned to accept her "non-creative" child and claims that anyone, child or adult, can be creative given the right handling and environment.
• Creating With Kids: 4 Ways That Work For Us — See how Kristin at Intrepid Murmurings nurtures creativity with her kids through craft projects, outdoor creative play, celebrating the creative process, and setting up "little spaces of beauty."
• Creating memories, not things — Mrs. Green from Little Green Blog reflects on life with a ten year old and how 'creating together' has evolved from 'things' to memories.
• The Gift of Creation — It may be hot, but Kellie at Our Mindful Life is already thinking about winter.
• Hidden Talents — Sylvia at MaMammalia describes how providing the opportunity for creativity sometimes means learning to look for hidden talents in unusual places.
• Creating Joy — CatholicMommy at Working to be Worthy shares how she and her one year-old son create joy for their community.
• How to do Crafts with Kids — Gaby from Tmuffin guest posts at Natural Parents Network and describes how to keep things simple when doing crafts with kids for magical (easy-to-clean, and tantrum-free) results.
• Sugar & Spice & Baking on the Kitchen Floor — Carrie at Love Notes Mama enjoys making a mess in the kitchen with her daughter.
• Young Scientist Makes Purple Potion — Hannah at Wild Parenting loves being a lab assistant for the young scientist in her life.
• Making a butterfly house — Lauren at Hobo Mama demonstrates the proper way to build a wooden butterfly house with a preschooler.
• Nurturing Creativity — Amyables at Toddler In Tow shares the enjoyment she feels in nurturing the creativity of her children.
• Home School Music - Sparking A New Generation Of Musicians — Based on her musical background, Chante at My Natural Motherhood Journey talks about how she creates with and teaches music to her children.
• Creating (im)perfectly Together — Mudpiemama shares some of the highlights of a summer spent building everything from ships to hoops but most of a lesson on letting go of perfection.
• Family Soccer Kick Around — When her children wanted to play soccer, Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children helped organize something that would work for her family.
• Creating Memories Together on Skype — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now tells how you can create memories online with adult children or anyone who lives in another city or country.
• We'll always have Halloween: Creating costumes for kids — Jessica Claire at Crunchy-Chewy Mama is not the craftiest mom on the block, but she does make a mean homemade Halloween costume.
• Let's Make Juice! — Wendylori at High Needs Attachment shares about the benefits of juicing with kids, as well as a quick recipe.
• Everything's Better When It's Homemade — Amanda at Let's Take the Metro praises the art of homemade goods.
• Creating the Opportunity for Art — Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction shares how her family has created an environment conducive to art.
• 10 Easy and Functional Crafts Preschoolers Can Do with Minimal Assistance — Dionna at Code Name: Mama offers ten easy crafts preschoolers can do while sitting near parents — but they don't need a lot of parental help. Added bonus: all of these ten ideas double as something functional (gifts, decor, educational).
• Creating with Kids: Singing Together — Ana at Pandamoly details the important role music takes in her household and provides a quick (and easy!) tutorial for creating fun songs to sing together!
• Create This — jessica at instead of institutions considers different aspects of creativity including those without an end product.
• Make Your Own Pocket Bib — A tutorial from Amy at Anktangle on how to make two simple and quick bibs to keep your little one clean at the table.
• Creating Together in the Kitchen — Despite not feeling "crafty," Momma Jorje finds a way to create and connect with her toddler.
• An Artist-Mama's Perspective — In this post, Shannon at The Artful Mama discusses the differences between her choice of artistic outlet and her son's, and how they embrace those differences together.
• Heart of the Home — Jona at Life, Intertwined shares some highlights of cooking with kids.
• Getting creative with kids — Isil at Smiling like Sunshine shares how much she enjoys watching her daughter getting creative.
• Creating with Children - The Nature/Seasonal Table — Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama celebrates the rhythm of the natural world with her toddler through the creation of a seasonal nature table.
• How Involving My Kid Saves My Sanity — The Happy Hippie Homemaker explains how involving her toddler in projects allows her to get more done, while providing valuable opportunities to teach and to bond (added bonus: amazing oatmeal raisin cookie recipe!).
• In the Kitchen with Kids — Cooking with Real and Pretend Food — Terri from Child of the Nature Isle engages her kids in the kitchen with culinary creations of both real and pretend food.