Monday, May 6, 2013

What's your favorite crayon? Crayola turns 110 this year!




Crayons have been bringing out our inner artist since we were tots and Crayola's crayons have been entertaining us since 1903.

So what makes Crayola special? I'd venture the love, care, and innovation found in every product. Crayola may be 110, but they've always been innovative and that's what made them succeed through the decades.

Binney & Smith in NYC founded the company in 1885.  Their original focus was on producing industrial pigment and supplying it to others. Soon, they began branching out. In 1904, they won a gold medal at the St. Louis world's fair for the dustless white chalk.

Binney worked with his wife, Alice, and in June 1903, they produced the first wax crayon. Alice came up with "Crayola." "Craie" in French means "chalk" and "Ola" was short for "oleaginous" or oily.

In 1926, Binney and Smith bought out the Munsell color company crayon line and added 22 new colors to their inventory.

In 1949, Crayola introduced the 48 crayon box.

In 1977, Crayola acquired Silly Putty.

In 1984, they bought Hallmark. Their current products include chalk, crayons, markers, and colored pencils.

Currently, they make 133 colors. 13 colors have been "retired," such as maize, raw umber,  thistle, and mulberry.

Crayola also renamed several colors, "Flesh" is now "peach."

Made in America
Crayola is headquartered in Forks Township, PA. It's a privately held company and global. Manufacturing plants are located in Forks Township, Bethlehem, PA, and Mexico City, Mexico.

You can visit the official Crayola museum called "The Crayola Experience," in Easton, PA.

Did you Know?
The world's largest crayon is at "The Crayola Experience." It's 15 feet long and weights 1500 lbs.

Question: Can you guess what color the world's largest crayon is?

In 2000, Crayola asked America to vote for their favorite colors.  George W. Bush gave a shout out to "Blue Bell." Courtney Cox said hers was "red." Blue came in first, #2 was cerulean, and #3 was purple heart.

Question for you: What's your favorite Crayola color?



Author Bio: Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD.  Her favorite color is cerulean.

Enjoy this excerpt from "A Gentleman and a Rogue," Book 2 of The Windsor Diaries, her steampunk romance series.

The song ended and Edmund grabbed her hand, tugging her toward the nearest hallway. At first, she wanted to protest; call out for her father and defy Edmund's wishes, but then reason kicked in. She wanted -- no, needed -- answers. And, she had plenty of questions.

They entered the main wing, and passed two rooms before Edmund opened a door and dragged her inside. Books littered the shelves. The library. A beam of light from a full moon shined through the window, casting Edmund's features in sharp, contrasting shadows. He leaned against the door and crossed his arms. His eyes narrowed, giving his expression a dark, hard edge. He looked like a devil in this moment. She steeled her shoulders, ready to do battle with him.

Silence grew between them as they both set their postures. Damn Edmund. She wanted to kiss the devil senseless. Thankfully, she still had her wits.

"What are you doing with Jonas Byron?" Edmund's voice was cold and exact.

"Dancing." She surprised herself with the ease of her retort.

"Looked more like flirting to me."

"Jealous?"

A muscle twitched in his jaw. "No."

"You are a horrible liar."

"Keira, you can't trust him."

She placed her hands on her hips. "Curious, you're the second man tonight to tell me that."

"Grayson has your best interests at heart. You need to listen to him."

"He's been missing for four years." She paused, glaring at him. "Like you have. And I thought you weren't coming back."

"I'm here now, and I'm not leaving you again."

She tilted her head and laughed. Oh, yes, he'd leave her again, and she had no intention of letting her heart get broken.

Edmund lunged forward, placed his hands on her waist, and pulled her against the length of his hard, muscled body, trapping her arms between them so her hands rested on his chest. His emerald eyes flamed with desire. Her heart turned over in response. His unique scent, spice and currants, weakened her resolve. As her memories flooded through her mind, her lips ached for his.

"God, Keira, don't test me like this."


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AMAZON (KINDLE:)

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14 comments:

  1. It's been so long since I've looked at a box of crayons that I can't even remember most of the colors. I think my favorite color was blue-green. I do remember maize and mulberry. I also have a bit of color history for you. Did you know that the color name "midnight blue" was made by Crayola? Before the color was called Prussian Blue. Tweeted.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ella, thanks for the tweet and the trivia. Very interesting about the Prussian Blue and how that change came about!
      Smiles
      Steph

      Delete
  2. Mine is magenta. As a child, I worked the magenta crayon down to a nub. Cute post Stephanie. :)

    Rose

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by, Rose and sharing your favorite. I remember mine was blue and I wore my crayons down, too. Coloring books were big for me growing up as a young girl in the 70's.
      Smiles
      Steph

      Delete
  3. I love crayons, colored pencils, all those pretty colored writing implements. I just bought a set of colored flair markers that I don't need but really want. Thanks for the Crayola info. Long live crayons!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Naomi,
      I've got a ton of crayons & pencils and markers. I was amazed to find out all the diverse products Crayola produces.

      Smiles
      Steph

      Delete
  4. My husband loves crayons. He grabbed a pack that he keeps around just for the smell! I love all the greens!

    What great information! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Melissa, LOL! Thanks for sharing. Heck, I still love crayons. It's something that never goes away, I think.
      Smiles
      Steph

      Delete
  5. I buy Crayons each year when school is beginning. I buy whatever the store has on sale--a 49 count box of Crayons--instead of $3.oo (guessing), 25 cents. If the limit is 6, I buy six. I do this at Wal-Mart, Target,our supermarket HEB, Walgreen's, and Office Depot, and I do it for about three weeks. These go in boxes at church to distribute to Mendez Elementary, the school with 85% Hispanics who are low-income, some illegals, many don't speak English....many are transient, and yes, some are even homeless.
    Every child, no matter the circumstances, delights in a new box of Crayons. They clutch the box tightly, so they won't lose the box....and yes, they smell the crayons.
    Don't you love that smell? I can smell it right now and there's not a Crayon in my house.
    Favorites colors--the blues. Least favorites? Anything yellow or light green. Dark green was okay.
    Thanks, Steph...such lovely memories.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Celia, that is the best time to buy crayons, too. You are so sweet to give them to the schools. I buy school supplies for my school as well.

      I agree - there's something about a box of crayons (and maybe it is the smell!) that just makes the light shine in a child's eye.

      That's it - you need some crayons in your house. Don't forget to pick up a pack for you, too!

      Smiles
      Steph

      Delete
  6. I have two small kids in school so we go through a lot of crayons. I always buy extra because it is nice to have them around the house for the kids to use. Plus even as an adult, I love to color. My favorite color would probly be red or pink. Lease favorites or white, because it is hard to see it when you use it to color.

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    Replies
    1. I have extras too, and yes, as an adult, I like to color, too. It's still fun - even at 44. Trust me. hehe. Yes, I agree - white is hard and it works best on a gray or a beige coloring page, I think.

      Smiles
      Steph

      Delete
  7. Hi Steph,

    My fav Crayloa color is a tie: turquoise blue and burnt orange. But I'm also partial to reds and greens, and I love me a rich brown. Purples and yellows make me smile, and pinks make my toes curl with delight. I use a white crayon a lot at Easter, and I like to outline with black. Heck. I like 'em all.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Maggie, LOL!! I agree - I just about like them all.
    Smiles
    Steph

    ReplyDelete