Crayon and wax background

Many schools are out for the summer and it's time to keep the kids happy. Here is a simple background you and your children can share. It is simple and safe. Although I show an iron in the supplies, I never used it.

I have made these backgrounds before on the stove using a pizza pan, but it is hard to control the heat, so you end up smoking the crayons or taking the chance that they don't melt. When I found a warming tray at a garage sale awhile back, I was thrilled. It is just the ticket for this technique.
Supplies (from left):
Warming tray
Iron (I didn't use it)
Heat tool (optional, I didn't need to use)
Foil, preferably heavy duty
Crayons, preferably Crayola brand since they have more pigment
Substrate such as card stock (not shown)
Dress pattern or tissue for second background (not shown)
Beeswax for second background (optional, not shown)

Cover your warming tray with foil. Turn the warming tray on to medium.

While the tray is heating, remove the protective papers from your crayons. It is much easier to do this before you begin.

Draw a design on the heated foil. This is supposed to be a pumpkin.

Gently lay your card stock onto the melted crayon. Don't move it around, just lay it flat on the tray.

Gently press until the crayon has soaked into the card stock. You will be able to see the crayon soak through the paper.

Lift the paper straight up.

This is what the pumpkin looks like now.

I repeated the color in the same spot and repeated the process. This time I didn't let the crayons melt as much, so the color didn't spread as much and the pumpkin looks better defined and less like a blob.

Clean your foil using a paper towel. There is no need to add more foil. As long as you clean the foil after each color, the foil will last all day long.

For the second experiment, I repeated removing the protective paper from the crayon, but this time I simply squiggled lines on the foil.

Lay dress patterns over the melted crayon.

Add more crayon on top of the dress pattern, making sure it is completely saturated.

Gently lay your card stock or other substrate on top of the dress patterns, being careful to not twist the substrate.

Gently lift one edge of the card stock and remove from the warming tray.

This is my completed piece. You can see where I got more color in some areas than others. If I want to even the color, I can do that using my heat tool, or ironing the excess color away using butcher paper and a pressing cloth or heat resistant craft sheet.

Consider using tissue paper instead of a dress pattern and add leaves between layers of tissue. Always add crayons or beeswax between each layer for good coverage.

The warming tray doesn't get hot enough to burn, so it is safe for children. This is a fun technique that will keep children and parents occupied for hours. The bonus is, you will have loads of backgrounds or images you can use in any of your paper projects.