I Won’t Buy Cra-Z-Art Crayons Again – Too Waxy, Clumpy & Soft

Hip2Save may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you via trusted partners and affiliate links in this post. Prices and availability are accurate as of time posted. Read our full disclosure policy here.

NOTE FROM COLLIN:

Similar to how we do our Try Me Tuesday posts with product recommendations, I thought it would be also fun to do basically the complete opposite. With that said, I introduce “Waste of Money Wednesday!” 😂 This post will be exactly that – the Hip2Save team will be sharing products that they aren’t happy with, products they feel are a waste of money – basically product UN-recommendations.

Hello everyone! It’s Angie, one of Collin’s sidekicks!

If you’ve got kids, chances are they are back in school and you recently spent a small fortune purchasing back to school supplies (OR hardly anything if you’re a Hip2Saver!😃). In an attempt to save a little money, I decided to purchase Cra-Z-Art Crayons for around 25¢ instead of Crayola Crayons for 50¢ (gotta love those back to school sales).

If you’ve purchased Cra-Z-Art Crayons before, you may have that same sort of waste of money feeling that I have… ☹️

Cra-Z-Art Crayons tend to be a softer crayon, and they just don’t last very long. The tips also break easily which can be frustrating when you are putting the finishing touches on an art project. And, I have noticed they have a sort of waxy look to them that almost looks like you could peel the color up off the paper.

In addition, they leave small globs of waxy color behind, which doesn’t make for a very smooth appearance and it smears around. If you look at the pic above, the Cra-Z-Art crayons do have a vibrant color, but they appear super waxy and clumpy compared to the Crayola crayons.

I have decided that it’s DEFINITELY worth paying the additional money to purchase Crayola crayons!


Other Waste of Money Wednesday posts:
Join The Discussion

Comments 58

  1. Kathleen

    I went to the Crayola Experience in Easton, PA a little over a year ago. I wasn’t so convinced until then that Crayolas are really better, but they are!

    • Becky

      So much fun! We went there about 2 years ago

    • *Angela-Miles*

      I loved that place…it was my kid for the day adventure Lol.

  2. Danielle

    This is GREAT!!! Can’t wait to read these ๐Ÿ˜Š

  3. sharon

    Agreed! Same with other dollar store brands

  4. shannon

    My kids school supply list says no crazy art beside the crayons. Now I know why!

  5. Rachel

    Agree 100%

  6. Jess

    I happen to think that these are perfectly fine for Kindergartener’s and 1st graders. They’re inexpensive, they get the job done, and since they’re artwork will get recycled after a few days, it totally makes sense for me. Although if my kids were older like 4th and 5th grade I would totally get them Crayola. I guess my kids are really rough and break ALL crayons they get their hands on. So I totally see both sides of it. ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Jess

      RIP July 19th BTS post ….

    • JAC

      I agree with you considering I gave a kindergartner. No point in spending more plus she’s not that rough so thy don’t break.

    • m

      In August Crayolas are always 25 cents in our town.

    • Sparrowoftortuga

      For 5 cents more a box (I compared them in Atl this year), I will pay more and stock up so my three year old doesnโ€™t even have to use these crayons.

  7. Maria

    My honest take on school supplies is to not skimp on quality. I don’t want my kids to be frustrated with the tools they use at school and I want them to be able to do their job without the frustration of ‘tools’ that don’t work. That being said, I use hip2save to purchase quality tools at sale prices and try to stock up on extras in case they need them later on in the year. My kids have been frustrated with pencils that won’t sharpen well – the lead breaks, etc so I only purchase Ticonderoga or similar. Money is tight but not so tight that I can’t spend an extra 25 cents on a decent box of crayons, etc. I do hate when they run out of something and I have to buy it at full price – this has happened with notebooks in the past. I’d rather spend 25 cents than 2.99 or whatever the regular price is. Anyway, thanks for sharing and I completely agree!

  8. Rebekah

    My teacher friends have all said the same thing! They request Crayola only.

  9. chrissybozz

    Coming from an Art teacher….only Crayola crayons! I believe I read Crazy art uses soybean oil in their crayons, thus giving them the softer consistency. (It’s probably a much cheaper way to make em!)

  10. Sean

    My wife has been a PreK and Kindergarten teacher for 20+ years and she will not use any products other than Crayola, whether that is crayons, markers, or pencils. Plus, they stand behind their products, so if there is a quality problem, she is able to get them replaced very easily. The kids that come to school with cheap products end up breaking them quickly and we end up replacing them at our cost.

  11. Molly

    I just laminated a project my Girl Scouts made using cheaper crayons. They were so waxy that the projects melted and waxed seeped off the paper in the laminator. Crayola only for me!!!!

  12. Kay

    Growing up my mom only bought crayola products. This is one area she never budged on when homeschooling my sister and I. When the crayons got too short she would melt them down into shapes for my sister and I to color with again.

    • ๐ŸŒบNolee๐ŸŒบ

      We usually collected broken crayons during the year, and then melted them down for school Valentine’s gifts instead of candy.

      • Kay

        What a wonderful idea!!! Such a nice outside of the box gift idea that can replace the often too easy and readily available candy ๐Ÿ™‚

  13. Jamie

    As a teacher – I say AMEN!!! We specify Crayola on our school supply list – the last SO much longer and are the best quality. The same for Playdoh!

  14. ๐ŸŒบNolee๐ŸŒบ

    Crayola all the way. Much better product. Buy the jumbo for the little ones. My two year old hasn’t been able to break one yet.

  15. JTCL

    I totally agree!!! Crayola is the best.

  16. Casey Meyers

    The saying is you get what you pay for. Thereโ€™s a reason Crayola is #1 when it comes to coloring supplies.

  17. Gretchen

    My kids just started school, and I heard so many people on here say only buy crayola. I took their word for it – so thank you hipsters for keeping me in good graces of the teachers ๐Ÿ˜‰ Have to say though, most places around me run hot deals on crayola crayons – never spent more than $.50 for a 24 ct box, so really seems cheaper to buy crayola than anything else.

    • mel

      My kids are in HS now, but when they first started school waaay back in 06, Walmart had Crayola’s $0.20/box. I bought 20 boxes and my mom thought I was nuts, but for $4 OOP, they weren’t gonna go bad! And that would last both kids through middle school as well as having extra’s in case I’d need to replace supplies mid-year or donations. After my oldest went to 6th grade, they didn’t need crayons, the supply list was for colored pencils. Anyway, I wound up with maybe 6 boxes left that I sent to their elem school this year, then kicking myself b/c one of the crayons out of the box is retired (dandelion). And I can’t find a 24 ct with that color in it anymore!!

  18. Dbl-d amber

    Weve tried them all and crayola is #1. We donated all the other brands to the preschool. Crayola covers better and is less messy.

  19. Melissa Rice

    When it comes to twistable crayons and color pencils, I like Mr Sketch more than Crayola. The scents are more prominent and colors are definitely more vibrant.

  20. Jo28p

    I get great use out of the these crayons. We buy what is on sale for home. I’ve got younger kids and we always lose them. Seriously, where do they go?!?! So we buy what’s on sale. I’ve gotten a 64 count of crayons that was super cheap clearance and we’ve bought plenty of .25 one of the odd brand. Seriously, no problems with them. Maybe when the kids are older it’ll make a difference but for now, it’s no big deal.

  21. Marie

    For a kindergartener I think they are fine. Your kid is coloring a turkey, not the Mona Lisa. After that Crayola at the child’s request ๐Ÿ˜‰

    • R

      Just had to chuckle… we home school and we were going over Davinci and my daughter in 1st grade literally just colored the Mona Lisa.. but Iโ€™m not sure which crayons she used, lol

  22. Sarah

    I used to buy the good school supplies until I found out that all their supplies were just put in a bucket and everyone could use them. I buy the Crayola at for at home and send the Crazy Art since they become community property and we get requests midway through the year for more supplies. I know it sounds cheap but if i’m going to have to buy supplies for everyone in the class than I don’t want to pay top dollar. When it’s a teacher request, I get the good stuff, like dry erase markers or sticky notes.

    • m

      Teacher here. It is community property. But as a teacher, I don’t put the roseart/crazyart out for kids to use. I buy extra crayola when they’re on sale before school starts because I know some parents won’t follow my note that specifies crayola.

      • Tara

        Yep! I do the same thing. There’s a reason we teachers specifically ask for Crayola!

  23. H

    I agree, I donโ€™t buy anything but crayola for all arts and crafts stuff.

  24. Kiwi

    I love Crayola! Even if/when they break they still work. Don’t throw them out. As a school based therapist, short ones (broken) are great for kids who have difficulty using a tripod grasp. I had a teacher this year break a whole box into pieces for her kids.

  25. Laura

    Totally agree. I wouldn’t even pick these up as a donation item or for free.

  26. JoAnn

    Some with cheap colored pencils. I will not buy cheap ones anymore.

  27. 5pink1blue

    I agree about the crayons but for some reason my kids prefer Crazy Art markers to Crayola.

  28. Michelle

    1st world problems.

    CrazyZArt is a pretty good deal at 25 cents a box for 24 crayons. I purchased 200+ for my OCC boxes this year. I don’t think anyone is going to complain about the quality of the crayons.

    • Erin

      Oh, I don’t know about that! My school had Prang crayons, which are the *worst*. You cannot color a picture smoothly with them, and it really bothered me. I still shudder when my kids get them a restaurants. Crazy Art are pretty bad, too. For our use, I get Crayola. I just stock up when they are on sale.

  29. Michelle

    Crayolas all the way! Everything else is a waste!

  30. Arlen

    Yeah, Crayola really is the better crayon. I was making some lego crayons for my son’s bday party so I was melting crayons… The amount of wax!! It was just the ugliest thing, and the smell when they melted. My husband thought I had plastic melting in the oven somewhere. Crayola, different story. Learned my lesson, Crayola all the way!!

  31. Michelle

    I’m a teacher and I just returned a lot of crazyart and roseart crayon, pencils and markers, plus a few bottles of sanitzer that i never asked for (I’m good with sanitizer for about five years) I didnt have reciepts, but it didn;t matter. I used the proceeds to buy some 8-color watercolor sets that I needed.

  32. Kc

    I cannot do cheap crayons or colored pencils. My son would get so upset coloring with them, especially when he was just learning to use his fine motor skills. The picture came out so light that he couldn’t even see his work. I threw out all the cheapies after that and go as far as to buy a ton of extra of the good supplies so that the teachers in my sons class don’t have to use the cheap stuff.

    I just wish parents viewed school the way that they viewed their own job. I wouldn’t buy cheap tools if I was a mechanic, or cheap kitchenware if I was a chef, the last thing I want is for my kids or any kid to struggle or be frustrated because they are using cheap and not quality “tools”.

  33. Ihearthip

    The crayola wash off of things better.

  34. Nina

    Boy Crayola just needs to read these posts n add them to their website! Instant free marketing!

  35. visitor3

    Kmart store brand is also good. Nice texture, saturated colors.

  36. *Angela-Miles*

    I still remember a couple years ago how rude this woman was to me in the school supply aisle because I saw that she was buying crazy-art crayons and just mentioned to her that they weren’t the best quality. I was very nice about it and wasn’t telling her what to buy, just offering my insight, but she was very rude and told me it was none of my business what crayons she bought . haahaha now I laugh about it but at the time I was dumb founded by how snippy someone could be over 10 boxes of crayons. ๐Ÿ™‚ I personally love the Mr. Sketch scented crayons

  37. Meg

    Yep, they’re total garbage. Pay the extra .25 for the good stuff.

    I also only buy Elmer’s glue sticks and Ticonderoga pencils. I feel *More* passionate about the pencils!!

    • Heather

      Meg-I’m with you on the pencils 1000%. No broken lead, sharpen evenly, erasers that work. Ticonderoga all the way!! Worth every extra penny!

  38. kk

    Agreed!!!

  39. Valerie

    As a kindergarten teacher, I despise this brand. It is clumpy and they don’t color nicely. Plus they contain a lot more latex. Crayola is the only brand you should buy!

  40. Beccat

    YES! As a homeschooling mom of four we go through a lot of pencils, glue and crayons. It is definitely worth it to buy Crayola, Elmer’s and Ticonderoga for those items! So much less waste because the crayons don’t break so easy, the glue isn’t so watery and runny and the pencil lead doesn’t snap and have to be resharpened constantly.

  41. Amanda

    I only buy Crayola products and will always buy just Crayola products. Crayola is the best and worth every cent.

  42. Hollie

    Honestly I don’t spend too much on school supplies and I don’t even let my kids pick stuff out because at our school they just have you drop everything in a tote and everyone uses everything. I do however always buy Crayola. I posted a funny picture on my Facebook saying why would anyone not spend the extra cents on Crayola and I got a hateful response from someone saying that was all her mother could afford and she turned out fine. Well for my kids I will spend the extra money and save it on something else.

  43. Guest

    I love these crayons. ๐Ÿ‘

    • Amber (Hip Sidekick)

      Thanks for letting us know you’ve been happy with them! ๐Ÿ’•๐Ÿ™Œ

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

It's not your Grandma's coupon site!

Sign up for a Hip2Save account (it's free) to access all of the awesome features!

Forgot Password?

Don't have an account? Register

Forgot Password

Don't have an account? Register

Become a Hip2Save Insider

Don't Miss Out! Join our large community of insiders - it's totally free! Once you join, you'll be able to save & share your favorite deals, rate posts and recipes and add items to your HipList and Cookbook! What are ya waiting for?!



Already have an account? Login

Thank you for rating!

Would you also like to leave us a comment?