How to Dye Sand for Sand Art

Dye sand to make colorful sand art jars.

Kids and adults can form sand art creations in jars with dyed sand and set them on a desk or mantel for decoration. With the help of molding materials mixed in with the sand—such as flour—you can even form sand art paintings to be held together by frame or sculpt a sand castle. Dyeing sand is simple, but the process can take up to 24 hours to complete. Plan to color enough sand to store for future spontaneous sand art sessions.

Things You'll Need

• Beach sand
• Flour
• Containers with covers
• Clear mixing bowls
• Food coloring
• Liquid fabric dye
• Water

Instructions

1. Gather a large amount of sand from a local beach. If you do not live near a beach, purchase sand at a home improvement, gardening or craft store.

2. Distribute the sand evenly to your containers. Mix half sand and half flour if you will be using the colored sand for molded and sculpted sand art. Use only sand for sand art jars. How many containers you need will depend on the number of colors you plan to use for your sand art creations. Likewise for the size of your containers. Do not fill the container to the very top; leave at least one-third of the space empty.

3. Mix food coloring, liquid fabric dye or any other natural coloring agent into enough water that will submerge the amount of sand you are dyeing in a separate container. Your sand will always dry in several shades lighter than your liquid mixture. For deeper colors add enough coloring agent to the water to make it as dark as possible.

4. Pour the dyed liquid into the sand container just until the sand is just submerged in the liquid. The liquid should not rise above the sand in the container. Allow the mixture to sit for at least eight hours or overnight indoors. The sand will eventually absorb the moisture and dye.

5. Set the containers under a heat source—like the sun—for a few hours in order to completely dry the dyed sand. This step is necessary should you be planning to create sand art jars where the process will benefit from dryer sand. For sculpted sand art, this step may not be necessary.

References

• Sand Gallery: Coloring Sand—Made Simple