If you have young children at home, you more than likely have a box of crayon "nubs." These tiny bits of well used nubs are often forgotten about and cast out into a box of doom that will eventually end up in the trash can. If your child is an avid artist, you're probably spending anywhere between $1.25 - $5.50 U.S.D. each month for crayons. Instead of buying new crayons, try this simple tutorial for recycling those nubs into chunky nuggets of colored fun.

The Hardware:

About 20-25 broken crayon pieces per color (preferably Crayola)Old cupcake tray
Oven
Skewers or another thin disposable stirring device

Start by digging out that box of old discarded nubs. Separate your nubs into piles of like colors. If you have nubs that still have their wrappers on them, make sure you peel off the excess as you don't want any "floaters" during the melting process. Take those piles of like colors and break them down even further by hue. If you only have a few of one shade, go ahead and leave them to the side. You can use these after your tray is loaded up to create a neat-o swirl design.

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Break out your cupcake tray. Start filling up each mold with your nubs of the same hue. If you only have a few of a similar shade, you'll want to place those on the top of the heap. Do this for each mold, making sure you only fill your tray about 7/8 of the way full.Once your tray is filled and your oven has reached 275 degrees Fahrenheit, place your tray in the oven for about five minutes.

After five minutes, check your tray to make sure your nubs are melting down and there are no lumps. Now is the time to "swirl" any molds that have a different hue on top of your base color. Gently stick your skewer in each mold and move your wrist in a figure eight motion to make a "swirly" design. Turn off your heat and allow your tray to sit in the oven for one minute. Grab some pot holders and carefully remove the oven from your tray to a level surface. The tray and its contents will be hot so be careful not to splash the hot melted wax during transport.