Here's a great little craft activity for the whole family (excluding toddlers) — drawing with crayons on hot wood! While this craft does require caution due to the very hot wood, it is just so completely satisfying to draw with crayons that melt as you apply them to your hot surface. I got this idea from the wonderful website The Artful Parent here, and I can't wait to try it out with my kids!
You'll Need:
- wood or mdf items
- an oven
- crayons
How To:
Set the oven to say 350F or 200C, place your wood items in the oven until they're good and hot. Mdf will not burn quickly, but wood will (I speak from experience, whoops!) so do watch your pieces. Remove from oven and place on towel or a metal tray. Without touching the wood item draw with your crayons. You can layer colors, but once it's drawn that's it, so you may want to experiment on a scrap piece. I would also recommend experimenting with the crayons to see which colors, and even brands produce the best results.
And by the way, I made this mdf chamsa one night around midnight, and I have to say, my husband was quite purplexed as he walked in the door to find the oven on and me drawing with crayons. "But what is it supposed to be?" he asked. I just had to laugh as I blurted out "art!" So don't hesistate to try this project yourself late at night, but if you get caught in action, make sure you have a good explanation!
