Beachy Crafty Fun

July 17, 2012

written by Cathy Baker, mom of two amazing girls, from Missouri

We just got home from a week spent with family in the place my heart still calls home, even though technically it hasn’t been home for 16 years now, a place called Michigan! When we head to the Lake Michigan beach (or any beach), I always want to bring back sand and shells and somehow try to capture the sunshine and memories we’ve made there along the water’s edge.  Here are a few ideas I’ve collected the past few years to help capture our beach memories.

First, this year, I saw these cute handprints/footprints at Balancing Beauty & Bedlam, using plaster of paris, and I knew I’d have to try them!  Here is our finished product…

And here we are making them…

One thing I loved about this project is that my 3 year old nephew and my 16 year old nephew all got in on the fun!

A couple of years ago, in my Family Fun magazine, I saw an idea for making a sand castle that lasts.  So, we brought some sand home and made these sand castles after we got home. I still have them sitting on a shelf. Here is the full recipe, but basically you cook up 1 cup sand, 3/4 cup water, 1/2 cup corn starch, and 1 teaspoon of alum to get your moldable clay that will harden when finished.

And when my kids were really little, I just bought these sand pens, and while the pens are shown filled them with colored sand, we simply filled them with beach sand and small shells we collected. They were a simple and cute souvenier of our time there. You could also do bracelets or plastic bottles.

 

So, do you have any way you remember the beach after you return back home to reality?

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Category: Random and Fun, Travel
Tags: beach crafts |