by Iris Rodriguez

It’s summertime, time for that beach vacation. As you enjoy the sea breeze blowing on your face, the sand tickling your face, the sounds of kids playing, and the seagulls flocking in the distance, let the real world melt away. Much better, right? Before you leave though, pack some sand and bring it home for some fun craft projects, like a sand art terrarium using a glass jar and All-Purpose Inks to color the sand. If you are not going to the beach, it’s okay, you can get sand from the craft store…we won’t tell.

Skill: Beginner
Time: 1 hour

Directions

Step 1

Select a glass container. I used, what used to be a candle jar, measures 4 x 4 x 4 inches, 8 ounces.

Step 2

Cut a piece of foam to fits the center of the jar. Use at least one branch along with the foam to measure the foam’s height. Leave 1 to 2 inches gap from the rim. This will keep the sand from spilling over. The foam will be completely covered by the sand.

Step 3

Arrange the flowers on the foam. Add hot glue to the holes. Artificial succulents and plants will also work. Or you can make it a beach theme by adding seashells.

Step 4

Add hot glue to the bottom of the foam.

Step 5

Glue the foam with flowers in the center of the jar.

Step 6

Place sand in the bag. Fill about a third of the bag, which for the jar used in this project made ¼ to ½ inch layer.

Step 7

Drop in two to three drops of ink. Sand is very porous, a little goes a long way. Seal the bag, ensure to release the air inside.

Step 8

Smoosh the sand around with your fingers and shake so that it moves around. When all of the sand has been colored, you are done. The sand dries instantly. There is no dry wait time. However, if you use a little too much ink, the sand will stay wet. With the ink, it’s not easy to tell it’s wet as you can with water. To test out if the sand is wet, run the sand through your fingers, if it does not run through your fingers smoothly, then it’s wet. Visibly, it will look loosely clumped. Even if slightly wet, it will not go through the funnel or layer smoothly and will stain the layer below. In this case, leave the bag open and let the sand dry.

Step 9

Repeat step 8 for each color. Use a different bag for each color.

Step 10

Pour sand into the funnel and layer the sand. Pour a little bit of sand at a time. Rotate the jar and fill a different area. An alternative is to use a small measuring spoon.

Step 11

Continue to layer until you reach the top and have covered the foam. Use the Imagine’s Doodlestix to reach in and move the sand around.

 

Now you have a DIY home décor nice or cute gift for that special someone. Hope you give this project a try.

Supplies

Imagine

• Craft Mat
• All-Purpose Ink – Tropical Lagoon, Thistle, Wisteria
• Doodlestix

Other

• Sand
• Glass jar or container
• Artificial flowers or succulents
• Snack size sealable plastic bags
• Small funnel or measuring spoon
• Foam
• Hot glue