How to Do Cheap Sand Art Crafts

Sand art fuses the visual and tactile pleasures of creating art.

Sand art has ties to ancient art forms in which people made elaborate geometric patterns entirely out of sand, in some cases ritually destroying them shortly after their creation. You can make a more lasting piece of sand art cheaply by coloring your own sand instead of buying colored sand from a craft store and using a minimum of readily available craft materials. Start a day in advance to give your homemade colored sand time to dry.

Things You'll Need

• White sand
• Zip-close bags
• Water
• Food coloring
• Paper towels
• Card stock or paper plate
• Pencil
• Tacky glue

Instructions

1. Put a cup of white sand into a zip-close bag. Add just enough water to thoroughly moisten the sand. Add a few drops of food coloring, close the bag and massage the color throughout the sand. Create one bag per color.

2. Dump the sand out on paper towels to dry. Choose a warm place on a surface that won't stain and that is out of the wind. The sand should dry out in a day.

3. Draw the outline of a simple picture or pattern on the card stock using a pencil. Each section of the outline should mark an area to be filled with one color.

4. Fill in one area at a time with a thin layer of tacky glue, then pour sand in the desired color onto the glue and carefully shake the excess sand back into its pile or into the garbage. Work from the center outward to avoid accidentally mixing colors of sand.

Tips & Warnings

• White sand may be more inexpensive at home improvement stores or at pet stores -- where it is sold for use in aquariums -- than at craft stores. If you live near a beach, simply sift some sand and bring it home.

References

• The Magic Onions; How to Make Colored Sand; September 2009
• Kiasu Parents; Sand Art!; July 2009