Quite possibly the best tool of the trade …… Happy National Crayon Day, March 31st

National Crayon Day is a day dedicated to celebrating the beloved colorful drawing tool. Observed annually on March 31st, it encourages people of all ages to embrace their creativity and express themselves through art using crayons.

So much history ….. So much enjoyment!

But where to begin? Because I’ve posted about crayons in the past and didn’t wish to repeat myself (too much) …  I dug deeper this time and learned something new … there’s a “place” called The Crayola® Hall of Fame! 

Since 1904, when cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith sold their first box of 8 “Gold Medal” Crayola® crayons, colors have come and gone. There’s been an assortment of reasons for changing out colors such as unpopularity, social, racial or politically incorrect names, or discovery of a new pigment. The fate of colors also varies: 

• they may be renamed to better represent current trends or social acceptability (e.g. the color Chestnut replaced Indian Red and Peach is now the new name for Flesh), 
• they may be temporarily discontinued to make way for a new promotion or contest (e.g. plain colors have made way for a naming contest for sparkly or neon colors),
• they may be permanently retired (e.g. Dandelion lost out to Bluetiful, to introduce the latest pigment discovery of blue)

And once a color is discontinued or retired (even temporarily) gaps are left in the box where each color lived, whether that be the small box of 8 Crayola crayons, all the way up to the box of 120! 

One of my many rainbow-colored rabbit trails led me down the path to The Crayola Hall of Fame. I had no idea! Apparently there is such a place, established in 1990, populated with crayon colors that have been retired as far back as 1910. Most of these colors are now permanent residents in Easton, PA, where The Crayola Hall of Fame is located. There they are (re)learning the joys of coloring outside the lines, golf cart decorating, and marathon rolling. But some of the retired colors, having a taste of the easy life, have decided to rejoin the active ranks of worker-writers, painters, and scribblers, as re-employed annuitants.

The Short but Brilliant Story of Dandelion 

Doesn’t look like annuitant status will happen any time soon for the self-retired, extremely happy-cheerful and brilliantly radiant Dandelion yellow Crayola.  From 1990 through 2017, a short 27-year blip on the Crayola history timeline, Dandelion was the color lighting up the boxes of 24+. But when he heard a gorgeous new blue hue had been discovered, Dandelion graciously checked into The Crayola Hall of Fame allowing the exciting new Bluetiful to take center stage! What a guy!

Being honored with permanent residency in The Crayola Hall of Fame also means the retired color has gone out of production permanently. How lucky to have found two brand new, never before used Dandelions in my stash of crayons! And a single Dandelion is worth as much as $20! 

$20 is also the value of each of the four recently retired (2003) Crayola crayons: Magic Mint, Mulberry, Teal Blue, and Blizzard Blue. I also own these four colors! You can do the math, but instead of cashing in on any of the 5 colors in my possession, I’ve decided to keep them, then created this floral page using only these colors for my post, showing off their beauty in celebration of this year’s ………………………………..

National Crayon Day!

Would you have done the same?