Customer Reviews

Crayola Crayon Maker

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(29)
2 star:		(32)
1 star:		(83)

 

 

Note number one - you need to buy a light bulb for this product, it is not included!

We have children that love to draw with crayons. So, if you have any of these yourself then you probably also have a huge collection of half or broken pieces of crayons. When we saw this product we thought it would be a great way to get rid of all these pieces and have fun doing it.

You put the equivalent of two full crayons into each side of the metal holder. Then you close the lid, turn the knob, and wait for about 20 minutes for the entire process to complete. Yes, that is a long time. No, I do not recommend just sitting there the whole time watching it. The kids don't really get to have too much fun here other then watching crayons melt (whippee), and turning a knob after ten minutes to pour the melted wax into the molds. Other then that most of the time is spent waiting where I would do other things while occasionally checking in on the melting progress. I will stress we didn't think the process would be that fun, and it isn't. The real fun comes after about 1/2 hour when the crayons have set and you pop them out of the mold. The new crayons are really cool looking with colored swirls, and they work just as well as a new one of of the box.

Clean up is not too bad, as you just wipe the melted wax from the metal tray and scrap away anything left. The molds you can wipe clean, not much sticks to it. Don't buy this product because you think watching the process is going to be entertaining, as you will quickly find it is quite boring. Buy this product if you have lots of broken crayon pieces and you want your kids to create their own cool looking crayons from the crayola rubble. The fun is in using these new crayon creations, not really the making of them.

We have had great success with this toy. I have a 6 & 3 year old & they love making their own crayons. I didn't have trouble with leakage & the light did not go out until the crayon pieces were fully melted. One tip I have is to put the crayon mold into the refrigerator after it has been filled. The "new" crayons will come out much easier & cleaner after being chilled. I think this is a great toy & was pleased that it did what it promised.

I am somewhat disappointed with this machine. It doesn't come with the bulb (had to run to the store Thanksgiving morning for a bulb) My own stupid fault for not looking at the box more closely. Thank goodness it comes with UNWRAPPED crayons. Especially the white, it does make for a nice marble crayon when mixed with one or two other colors. My kids never unwrapped their crayons (I wish they would have) It's time consuming to unwrap a crayon. Especially Crayola ones, the qualilty shows in the excellent application of the wrapper. Safety features are excellent. The machine locks so you can't open it while the melting process is in progress. And it doesn't get burning hot.
It takes 20 minutes. 10 to melt and another 10 to let it set and harden. Trial and error notes: mix light with dark crayons for a better effect. Dark colors mixed aren't very nice. Use very small pieces less than 1/2 inch for the best melting. Another fun thing...line a muffin pan with foil cupcake liners and put crayon pieces in them. Set oven on low setting and let them melt. The four stars for fun are because my kids did seem to enjoy it. Three for durability is because I see potential for some problems in the future with certain parts of the machine.

I like the design of this thing from a safety standpoint. Usability, and the fun of the finished product leave a bit to be desired.

1. The 20 minute timer is mechanical and can't be circumvented. Good for avoiding hot wax on the little fingers, frustrating beyond belief if (like me) you get the lightbulb seated wrong the first go-round.

2. Doesn't take a lot of crayons to make new ones. Why? Well, these are little stubbies. Technically, I guess we don't all neeeeeed long crayons, but the point for us at our house was to make new crayons that could infiltrate the existing collection.

3. Clean up is pretty easy if you do it right away.

All in all, I think it's a good idea. However, my daughter wanted to make gifts for her friends, and this is just entirely too time consuming for that purpose. And the resulting crayons are okay, but a lot of wax is wasted.

For the safety-conscious crayon melter, you could achieve some pretty decent results with a mini muffin tin in an Easy Bake oven at a reasonable, and more versatile, price point.

I bought this for my son for his birthday. We used it at his party and the kids loved making their own, many colored crayons. The crayon colors come out swirled. Even the 12 year olds loved making their own crayons.

There are some neat safety features with this toy. First, the lid locks in-place while the wax is hot and doesn't allow little fingers to touch until it's cool. Second, if the toy is knocked over the light bulb turns itself off.

What's required that is not included is a screwdriver and a 60 watt candelabra light bulb. We read and followed the instructions and had no problems.

There really wasn't any cleaning needed and we had no mess with it. We have played with this a few times since his party and it was as fun as the first time.

Your kids (and you!) will have lots of fun with this.

We purchased this toy for the family and it is so fun to play. We all take turns deciding on what color crayons to make and everyone enjoys watching them melt and pour into the molds.

We had read some of the reviews prior to buying it and were a little concerned about those that said it didn't melt very well or didn't fill the molds, but we didn't have any of those problems. It's been a great addition to our art area and I would recommend it to others.

What FUN!!!!

I got one of the Crayola Crayon Makers earlier this year, and my kids LOVE it! They've spent hours making swirly colored crayons unlike anything you can buy. You never get the same crayon twice! They've even made new sets of crayons to give to others.

We have TONS of old crayons in tubs around the house. This product gives those old crayons new life, while giving my kids creative fun. They've made hundreds of crayons so far, and the unit is holding up great.

I recommend this product wholeheartedly!

We thought this would be perfect for our son. He loves to color, has lots of crayons, and really likes crafts. It does not come with the required lightbulb. We had to call numerous stores to find the exact one needed. Once we started using the crayon maker we were VERY disappointed. It did not work like we thought it would. The melted pieces did not always pour properly into the mold, therfore making a mess. The few that did pour right, once formed, were only half size crayons.

The crayons that you create break WAY more readily than the crayons that you are recycling. I am a HUGE fan of reduce, reuse, recycle, but this thing created more frustration and we ultimately ended up throwing away most of the crayons that we made, because they broke with one use, and giving away the crayon maker.

This is a great toy!!! There are wonderful safety measures such as a locking lid that won't open during the whole melt and mold process. There is also a feature that only allows it to run when it's flat on a surface. It does take about 20 minutes to complete the entire process, but it is worth it!!