Wax-Resist Snow Scenes

I came across a tutorial for beautiful oil pastel and watercolor snow scenes last week at Kids Artists. It struck me that this would be an excellent craft using my beloved warming tray. Here's how mine turned out:

Here's Trevor's. He added a fun snowball fight in the foreground.

Materials: white paper (heavier weight is best), Sharpie, warming tray, crayons, blue paint, paper towel

While the warming tray is heating up, draw a wavy line across the paper with a Sharpie. Add whimsical triangle-shaped trees with gifts underneath. Keep the details large enough to color with crayons. When the design is complete, move it to the warming tray.

Color in the design with peeled crayons. The wax melts just enough to give a smooth, vibrant color. Leave the bottom snow area uncolored. Dot the sky area with a white crayon.

The wax cools immediately as soon as the paper is removed from the warming tray. Prepare the paint. If you have liquid watercolors, use that. Otherwise, water down blue acrylic paint until it resembles watercolor paint.

Paint horizontal strokes across the artwork, avoiding the white area at the bottom. Immediately wipe across the design  with a paper towel to remove the paint from the wax-covered areas. Let it dry and then display your finished artwork.

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