An Alberta business owner has found a colourful way to turn a profit, donate to charity and save up for college — and he's barely a teenager.

Thirteen-year-old entrepreneur C.J. Payeur says the inspiration for his Medicine Hat-based, crayon-making business struck while he was eyeing a wax figure on his brother's bookshelf.

At the time he was about 10 years old, taking a business program at a youth centre, and considered: "Why can't I do something like that?"

It turns out that C.J. actually could do something like that.

He began buying crayons from the dollar store to cut them up, melt them down, and craft them into new — and kaleidoscopic — shapes.

"I don't do specific colours; I usually just mix them all up and then put them in the mould," C.J. said. "I have, like, heart shapes and dogs and butterflies and turtles and fish."

According to C.J., hearts and puzzle-pieces are the most popular crayons. Prices were carefully determined to cover his overhead — and with a bit of business acumen.

"The value of the product was, of course, what my costs were to make it," C.J. said. "Then, I just bumped it up to something that people could use pocket change for."

Early days: Melted moulds, singed wax

Now, his venture — called C.J.'s Krazy Crayons — is operational, with packages of six crayons selling for $2 through his Facebook page or Medicine Hat markets.

But back in its infancy, C.J. says he weathered the highs and lows of entrepreneurship.

"I did some experimenting and I found some chocolate moulds that weren't meant to be in an oven. So they melted," C.J. said.

"Then, I gave some silicone moulds a try, and those worked better. I found if I did more colours, they would be multi-coloured ones instead of single-coloured ones."

Some colourful butterfly creations from C.J.'s Krazy Crayons.

In those early days, C.J. says he was working out of his family's kitchen, and melting down the crayons using the oven.

His parents withstood the smell of singed wax for four months before finally moving the operation into the garage.

"As soon as [the wax] leaks out, and then onto the tray or onto the bottom of the oven, it instantly smokes," said his father, Scott Payeur.

"[The] whole upstairs of our house smelled like melted crayon wax for, oh, a good day or two after each trial."

C.J. is quick to agree with his dad; it created what was, he says, a stench.

"It was like fumigating, it was horrible," C.J. said. "[My parents] were saying ... 'You can go to the garage and use the toaster oven.'"

Giving back

C.J.'s crayons come in the shape of hearts, dogs, butterflies, turtles and fish. (Carter Payeur/Facebook)

In the garage, and with a toaster oven, is where and how the business continues today. So far, C.J. has made about $1,000 this holiday season and around $2,000 since the summer.

Some of the money goes back into the business or into savings; C.J. says he's already preparing a college fund.

But a quarter of the earnings are donated to the Medicine Hat and District Food Bank, C.J. says.

"I just thought, you know, I had some extra money and I didn't really need it," C.J. said.

"The food bank is something I wanted to donate it to, because there are people less fortunate than me, and they should have as good enough a chance as I do at having a good life."