handmade // crayon hearts

this is the first year we decided to give stella's daycare friends a valentine.  last year we dropped the ball and didn't do much of anything for her wee friends.  we did make some thumb print valentine art for family members, but that was the extent of our holiday craftiness.  so this year, with the help of pinterest of course, we made crayon hearts.  my students at school helped me get the pesky paper wrapping off the crayons, where we opted for shades of dusty rose, aubergine, clementine and ruby.  naturally.  they turned out surprisingy well and just happen to be the perfect size for tiny fingers to grasp.  here's how we made them.

first, you will need to get the paper wrapping off of the crayons and cut them into tiny pieces.  i put them in a plastic bag and whacked them with a hammer a few times.  that proved to be sufficient.

then, with help from your little one, sprinkled the crayon pieces into heart molds.  i found some cheap red ice cube trays in the dollar bin at target that worked better than i had hoped.  seeing that they are made of plastic, keep the oven on low low low heat with an *extra* watchful eye.  

after ensuring each heart was filled with wax, i put the tray in the oven on top of a lined baking sheet at 200 degrees.  together, stella and i sat on the floor and watched the colors melt and swirl.  we oooed and ahhhed at the marvel that was these crayon hearts.  the total melting process took about 20 minutes.  

after taking them out, we left them on the patio for several hours to cool and dry before popping them out of their molds.  

now we are going to come up with something clever for their presentation.  most likely something involving an arrow, but we need a cheesy quote to go along with, so if you have an idea...throw it our way!