Recycle old crayons that are too short to draw with to make new crayons in fun shapes.

Heat makes a crayon a little loopy; it may melt into a swirl or pool into a whirl. With this in mind, we chopped up crayons and baked them in shaped mini cake tins, making large blocks that are easy for toddlers to hold and will surely inspire older artists.

Encourage kids to come up with their own combinations—a blue-and-white blend for drawing the sky, or a mix of reds and oranges for sunsets.

Tools and Materials : old crayons, kitchen knife, mini cake tins

Crayon How-To Parents can use the knife to chop crayons into pea-size pieces, taking care to keep colors separate so kids can combine them as they like. Preheat the oven to 150°F while children fill the tin with crayon pieces, arranging them in interesting designs. Bake just until the waxes have melted, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the shapes after they have cooled. If they stick, place the tray in the freezer for an hour, and the crayons will pop right out.

— courtesy of Martha Stewart Kids

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Next time you stop at a gas station to ‘fill up the tank,’ set the nozzle on the pump to run automatically. Then, use the ‘wait time’ to clean your car—remove trash, collect stray items, wash the windshield, etc.

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Next time you’re packing up your suitcase for a much-needed vacation or business trip, consider using old buttons to organize your earrings… just push the wires through the holes and secure them at the back.

In fact, if you don’t own a fancy-schmancy jewelry organizer for your earrings at home, you can use this idea to keep pairs together in your jewelry box (or wherever else you store your earrings).

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