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: The Weekend

A couple of weekends ago, we did some crosswalk advocacy for Thank You For Seeing Me, an organization that helps spread the word about pedestrian and bicyclist awareness. Then, we played at the playground, and we went to a birthday party that night. Here are the pictures to prove it.

At the Playground:

Boy in a bubble

Happy kid and some beautiful weather.

Ducking under the slide.

Cute big boy.

 At the Party:

Cupcakes are delicious.

Fireman T was in heaven.

Brothers cracking up at each other.

A Clockwork Orange? The Fly?

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WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Heartache

My aunt passed away suddenly last Sunday, and my heart broke. It's that nauseous, brick-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach feeling that follows you around and almost prevents you from crying. She was a vibrant, generous woman who was straightforward and honest but never had a bad thing to say about anyone. She was like a second mother to me. She loved my sisters and me--we were the daughters she never had. This is how I'll remember her.

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WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: When You Just Want to Cry...

I used to be a big crier. Oh god, in middle school I would cry if I got a bad grade, if someone looked at me funny, or if a teacher reprimanded me for anything. In high school, I would cry when I broke up with a boyfriend, when I didn't get the role I tried out for in the school play, and when my parents wouldn't let me stay out as late as I wanted. In college, I cried when I didn't win the Hamblet Award at Vanderbilt, and...well, I'm sure there were other times. I just don't remember. I'm sure I cried a bunch after college too.

But since having kids, I haven't really cried very much. I cried in the hospital after having Baby T while reading a magazine that described an infant's age in stages, and I couldn't imagine him ever being older than he was then. When I was pregnant with Little M, I was very emotional, but I couldn't cry. In fact, my midwife thought maybe a good cry would bring on labor after my water broke and I wasn't having contractions, but I just couldn't do it.

This week, the same day I was complaining to Big T that there were toys all over the house and I just couldn't keep up with the laundry and clothing rotation, smoke started pouring out of the hood while I was driving both boys around town, and I frantically toted both boys and all of our belongings down the street to a generous friend's house. I kind of wanted to break down in tears. But I didn't.

Maybe this is why:

Drowned Toys

Bathtime Antics

A Noodle Hose

A Determined, Yet Sleepy, Fireman

Those Eyes!

Monkey Butt

This Sweetness

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