Crockpot Cooking: 3 Non-edible Arts & Crafts Ideas For Your Slow Cooker

Why would you use your crockpot for non-edible recipes?

Believe it or not you can use your crockpot to create recipes for things other than food! You might wonder why you would want to use your slow cooker in this way, and there are many reasons; perhaps you are feeling creative and have some spare time on your hands, or perhaps you want to put more effort into creating gifts or save money on things you can use around the house. Sometimes there is just more satisfaction in ‘making’ something rather than going out and buying it; isn’t that why you bake a cake instead of going to the bakery? Getting creative with your crockpot could even lead to a fun hobby or a sideline business! You just never know, until you get stuck in.

#1 Crockpot Crayons

This is a fun idea to pass time when you’re babysitting the nieces and nephews. Colouring in is fun, but making your own shaped crayons is even more fun! You can use different shaped molds or even plastic cupcake molds for giant cupcake shaped crayons for the little ‘uns to scribble with! It is also a great way to keep crayons tidy – because they end up all over the place when they get worn down small and broken into bits, but big chunky crayons are less likely to fall down the sofa cushions. Depending on what kind of molds you use, they can also make great toys to play with for imaginative kids. Look out for car and dinosaur-shaped molds in craft shops!

Ingredients:

• Old crayons
• Small cake molds
• Kiddie helpers

Method:

1. Sort the crayons into color families, putting all shades of blue together in one pile, and then all shades of red in another, and so on.

2. Peel the wrappers off. It helps to soak the crayons in some warm water before peeling.

3. Break the crayons into small pieces, and load into the molds. It’s best to mound the crayons up a bit; they will melt and shrink down.

4. Put the molds into the crockpot and cover with the lid. Cook the crayons on HIGH for 1.5 hours.

5. Once the crayons have melted completely, your crayons are done. Let the hot wax sit in the crock and begin to harden before trying to remove the pan, because you don’t want hot crayon wax spilled, and you don’t want to get burnt either!

6. Refrigerate the pan for 30 minutes, or until the crayons have hardened completely and pull away from the edges. Pop out and enjoy!

#2 Crockpot Play Dough

Here is another fun homemade creative idea to entertain kids with at home. Yes, it may seem easier to simply go out and buy tubs of play dough from the toyshop; but trust me, kids will enjoy playing with the play dough they have made themselves far more! And these are the sorts of activities that kids will remember for many years to come, so give them your quality time, and memories they will treasure forever.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour (or you can use rice flour to make it gluten free)
• 1 cup corn starch
• 1 cup salt
• 1/4 cup cream of tartar
• 2 cups hot water
• 2 t cooking oil

Method:

1. Plug in your crockpot and turn to LOW to warm up slowly.

2. Dump in your dry ingredients, stirring to evenly distribute.

3. Add the water and oil. Close the lid and switch the heat to HIGH.

4. Set a timer and check your play dough every 30 minutes, stirring well each time. It can take anything between half an hour, up to 2 hours depending on your crockpot.

5. You will know it’s done or close to done when the play dough begins to form a ball when you stir it. When that happens, remove the stoneware insert from your crockpot and stir some more.

6. Dump it out onto a smooth surface and begin to knead – but be careful – it’s going to be hot!

7. If your dough is overly sticky, add a bit of corn starch. If overly dry, add a touch more hot water. Each time you make the dough, the water required will be a bit different, depending on the humidity in the air.

8. Separate the dough into manageable lumps and push a hole into the centre for a few drops of food colouring.

9. Squish the dough around to distribute the desired colour.

#3 Crockpot Candles

Ingredients:

• Wax (1/2 pound of beeswax for three candles)
• Wicks – You can buy the plain kind and trim them your self, or buy the pre-trimmed wicks with the clips already attached.
• Container – You can use baby food jars or other similar jars or containers you have around the house; basically, anything that will hold the liquid wax and stand up to the heat of hot wax and a couple hours in the crockpot.
• Bamboo skewer – to stir the wax
• Grater or knife – used for breaking up the wax if you bought a big block. You can also buy pellets, which is easier.
• Essential oils (if you want scented candles)
• Crayons or candle colour (if you want coloured candles)

Method:

1. Break up the wax and fill your containers with the pieces.

2. Place the filled containers in the crockpot, and turn the crockpot up to HIGH. Put the lid on and walk away for a while. 30 to 45 minutes should do it.

3. Check on the wax. It will be mostly melted, and probably much lower than you want it to be. Add more wax to the containers, cover the crockpot, and walk away again.

4. Once the wax is all melted, and it is as deep as you want it to be, turn the crockpot off, but leave the containers inside.

5. Now is the time to add scents or colour. You can use fifteen or so drops of essential oils (patchouli and lavender are a nice combination) depending on how big your candles are. Add colour, if you want, and stir everything together to incorporate the oils/colours into the melted candle wax.

6. Place your wick in the melted wax. Try to get it as centred as possible. It will likely stand up by itself.

7. Walk away again, letting the candles harden in the crockpot as they cool. They should be ready to handle in an hour or so, and you can light them when they’ve completely cooled down.

TIPS:

• Line the crockpot with foil, and cover the pot with foil rather than the lid when you’re melting the wax – or purchase a crockpot especially for candle making and don’t use it to cook food in!
• You may get a bit of a well near your wick, but it will be smaller than in traditional melt and pour candle making. If this happens, grate some wax and shove it into the well. When you light the candle, the flame will melt the wax and everything will even out naturally.

Do you have any creative crockpot ideas of your own?

We all use our kitchen appliances in our own special ways. Inspire YouQueen readers with your creative crockpot ideas by leaving your suggestions and tips in the comments section below!

Cover photo: www.pinterest.com