Crayon Cakes

I made these crayon cakes for the girls based on this tutorial at Whimsy Love. Instead of using a large muffin tin, I used a small, strangely shaped shallow muffin tin from the dollar store. I love the size--big enough to be a fun, chunky crayon, but still small enough for a 1 1/2 year old.

These are great fun. Like most of our other favorite art supplies, they're aesthetically pleasing in themselves--they're weighty and smooth, they make a fun clacking sound when they touch each other, and, as Bojey demonstrates, they're fun to stack. All of these things make them a great art supply for a 1 1/2 year old and a 3 1/2 year old--when the little chick is done drawing after five minutes, she can play with the crayons while the bigger chick keeps working.

Artistically, they can be used in many different ways: the flat sides can be used for rubbings or to shade large areas, the edges can be worn down to make a nice thick line (much more so than the skinny Crayolas)or, as Ninna discovered today, you can roll a crisp new edge on paper to make a very thin line:And of course, the hen loves them because they are a great repurposing project, and they're even fun to make. There's something very satisfying about reaching the point when all of the crayons have melted smoothly together. I'll definitely be making stacks of these for gifts in the future.

This post has been linked to Se7en’s Fabulous Friday Fun blog carnival.