Sorry for your loss
For the blocks I used to put an old tshirt on the ironing board and a page or two of folded newspaper and some paper toweling. Put the block crayon side down and another paper towel on top of the block. Iron with dry iron, hot heat and pressure. You may have to replace the toweling often during the process. Crayola or prang crayons will produce the best results. With little ones, I found that I had to make sure that their blocks were darkly colored so that they would produce a good result. Good luck with your project. When I did this for a elementary school teacher - she loved it!
Sylvia