I consider myself rather crafty, and I love coming up with “projects” to do. (Stay tuned for a Halloween costume in the making…) I am working hard to instill that love for creativity in my daughter by coming up with fun things we can make together. Of course, she loves to color, but I am trying to help her branch out too. So when I received a sampling of Crayola Play Sand, I put my creative juices to the test to find something fun that she could do with the sand.
Together, we created this birthday work of art for Papa Jack (my dad). It was super easy and she loved it!
As you can see from the photos below, we created our art outside to avoid mess. Hint to moms, good idea!
The biggest mistake I made was waiting to prep our materials until she was with me. When we do this project again, I will have everything ready to go so she can do her thing without waiting around. I will also make more than one at a time because set up took a lot longer than her part.
Materials:
- Colored Sand – Crayola Play Sand
- Salt & Pepper Shakers – I bought 2 sets at the $1 store
- Paper – we used 8 1/2 x 11 colored card stock, but anything will do
- Clear Contact paper – also from the $1 store
- Alphabet Stickers – you could handwrite your message
- Scissors
Prep work — The first step is to cut out your “frame” from you paper. Make sure you leave a nice boarder so there is something to hold on to. Next, I used Alphabet stickers to spell out the message “Happy Birthday Papa Jack.” I poured colored sand into the salt and pepper shakers. Note, I only filled the shakers about 1/3 full. This is a good idea because if there was more she would have probably tried to use it. This way, she “ran out.” The last prep step is to cut a piece of contact paper slightly bigger than my frame and stuck the frame to it face down.
Fun time — Once I was ready for K, I laid the frame on the driveway (sticky side up) handed her the shakers and let her go to town!
Not surprisingly, she got a little overzealous with the shakers once she got the idea. (That’s why next time we will make more than one.) Once I got her to stop shaking, I poured the excess off (back into one of the shakers), brushed the sand off of the frame and laid another sheet of contact paper on top of her “art.”
Ta-da!
Crayola Play Sand is available by the pound. In addition to being used for art projects, it can also be used as a fun alternative to traditional sand in a sandbox. I have to tell you that this sand brushed off our hands (and feet) much easier than regular sand. Somehow, it isn’t nearly as sticky. It would make an excellent option for a patio sandbox or in a classroom. Plus the colors are fun!
Disclosure – I was provided a sampling of the colored sand to facilitate this review, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own. No other compensation was received.