Fun With Wax Paper: Abstract Melted Crayon Art!

Here's a fun craft activity that can also be an interesting way to introduce your children to the idea of abstract art! Grated crayons sandwiched between wax paper and then melted with an iron make beautiful abstract works of art, even worthy of hanging on the wall! The wooden Moroccan frames that we have hanging over our kitchen table have now become useful for a rotating art exhibition, including these works of crayon art. (Read my previous post about decorating with empty frames here.)

 

You'll Need:

• crayons
• a plastic cheese grater, that would be somewhat safe for kids to use
• wax paper
• an iron
• an old pillow case

How To:

1. Working on the ironing board, or a surface where you can use the iron, place a large piece of wax paper on the work surface, and give children a bunch of old crayons and a grater. 
2. Encourage them to spend some time grating, my five year old loved it! Try to cover most of the wax paper with scattered crayon gratings, loosely scattered but not too dense, or the results will end up looking like our example on the far right, above.
3. Place the second piece of wax paper on top of the grated crayons, and place a pillow case between your iron and the wax paper. Iron your creation with a hot iron, and lift the pillow case often to show the kids how the crayon is melting with the heat.
4. Make several "works of art" and display! See if your visitors can guess how you made them!