We hadn’t tried beeswax crayons until very recently, but I’ve had my eye on them, to be sure. With the promise of rich, vibrant colors, and vegetable dyes and beeswax, they seem like the superfood of kids’ art supplies.
Crayola first came out with their crayons in 1903, and for some reason also came out with many other lines of crayons, including: Anti-Roll, Arista, Art-Toy, Besco, Boston, Cerata, Cerola, Chic’ago, Doo Zee, Durel, Easy-Off, Gotham, Liquitex, Munsell Crayola, Perma, Pooh, Protfolio, Rubens, Spectra, Tiny Tots, Washable and Widstrok. I just don’t know if I could use a Pooh crayon.
Interestingly, there were many companies producing wax crayons starting in the late 19th century, including the Joseph Dixon Crucible Company.
A color treatment in drawing appeals to the child’s innate love of beauty, and by it he is brought into close touch with nature.
In 2000, there were some concerns about asbestos being found in Crayola, Prang and Rose Art crayons, prompting a bunch of testing to see if there were indeed health risks to children using these crayons. The results of testing found that there were trace amounts of asbestos in 2 Crayola and 1 Prang crayon. However, there were larger amounts of “transitional” fiber which is similar in appearance to asbestos fibers.
This fiber still did not warrant a recall, but all three companies were asked to reformulate their crayons, which they did.*
This brings us to the appeal of beeswax crayons:
- Although more expensive than traditional crayons, they really are a definite safe bet, and lovely to work with.
- When you hold them, you can feel a little more heft and strength to the crayons, and they glide smoothly on the paper.
- You can definitely tell the difference in color saturation as well.
- Beeswax is an all-natural, renewable resource which beats the petroleum-based paraffin of other crayons.
If you’re a total superhero, here’s a recipe to make your own beeswax crayons.
*****
If you’re a non-superhero, like me, you can find beeswax crayons at these locations:
Stockmar beeswax stick crayons
Rectangular beeswax crayons are perfect for those horrible little crayon-breaking toddlers.
Have you or your kids tried beeswax crayons? Any favorite brand?
* info. from on Snopes.com
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I had no idea that beeswax crayons even existed! I am now curious to see how different they are to work with! Gonna get me some!
PragmaticMom recently posted…Math Games For Kids Inspired by Olympics
How wonderful! Do they smell wonderful? I wonder if they would work for children’s encaustics (maybe using a hotplate) or some beeswax transfers. I hope the decline in the availability of beeswax doesn’t make these crayons hard to come by by the time I have kids… maybe I will just get some for myself
Ashley recently posted…Oh Deer!
They’re very fun. Let me know what you think if you try them-
Jeanette Nyberg recently posted…Easy Fun Painting Project for Little Kids
They DO smell wonderful, in fact! Oh my goodness, I need to try them with encaustics or as a print transfer. Thanks for the awesome idea!
Jeanette Nyberg recently posted…Let Me Introduce You to Anchal
I have to get some! Love the idea of more vibrant. After all they are (love this) the superfood of kids’ art supplies! Like renewable too.
I think the pebble shaped crayons that I have seen are beeswax. I like your picks!
Ann recently posted…Bird and Book: Mourning Dove
Thank you for this tip! I have a 2 & 3 year old who love to color, but I never thought about there being anything dangerous in the mainstream brands. I really love those kitty crayons.
Ashley Pahl recently posted…Raspberry Red Velvet Latte Recipe