Mom’s ‘jumbo’ crayon hack is the perfect solution to broken crayons: ‘This is brilliant’

This parent shared a hack on TikTok to help stop kids from constantly breaking crayons, and it’s a total game changer!

Kate Bast (@thebastfamily) is a TikToker and parent who often posts videos of hacks, crafts, recipes, and activities for “little humans.” Recently, Bast shared a hack intended for kids with a habit of snapping crayons in half, and it’s a total color time gamechanger. 

In the clip, Bast provides a step-by-step tutorial for using leftover and broken crayons to create unbreakable jumbo crayons! 

First, she soaks any miscellaneous crayons in a bowl of warm water so she can easily slip off their wrappers. Next, Bast arranges an assortment of crayons in each compartment of a silicone ice cube tray

After sorting the colors, Bast places the ice cube tray on top of a cookie sheet in the oven and bakes the crayons for 35 minutes at 275 degrees Fahrenheit or until they’ve completely melted. 

Once the jumbo crayons are out of the oven and dry, kids can color to their heart’s content without any Crayola casualties. 

Bast’s clever crayon hack struck a nostalgic chord with viewers who shared memories from similar childhood crafts. 

“My mom did this in little race car molds for my brother! It was so cute,” one user commented.

“I’m sitting here thinking about all the crayons I’ve wasted. This is brilliant,” another person complimented. 

Other viewers had strong opinions about the mishmash of colors in one tray and offered some suggestions.

“Even better if the colors hadn’t been mixed up! Solid blocks of color would let them have a choice and be more creative,” commented one user. 

“I did that, but I separated all the colors and made one giant crayon of each color… it was a hit,” chimed in another viewer.

“Heads up–DO NOT include any glitter crayons in your mix… they WILL start a fire in your oven,” one user warned. 

Regardless of people’s opinions on the virtue of combining colors, the most important thing is that your child has fun and can’t waste crayons since these ones are unbreakable! But it’s probably best to stay away from any glitter.

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