Perhaps the two of you like to do art projects together, spending afternoons choosing colors and making masterpieces? Have you ever considered sand art but you’re unsure on exactly how to do sand art?
If your child is interested in arts and crafts, it can sometimes be difficult to come up with new projects to entertain them. If you’re looking for a fun new way to create art with your child – then look no further!
This article has been written to help you with everything you’ll need to do sand art, from materials to template pictures, to how to create sand art within bottles/containers!
We’ve also included a short FAQ section at the end to help smooth out any of the more complicated aspects of the process.
So let’s grab some sand and start making fantastic artwork!
What Is Sand Art?
Sand art is an artistic activity that we recommend for children from the ages of 3 and up. Using sand to make art is a fun, unique way to get your child interested in art, and to get them to explore their creative side.
Sand art is an exciting, inexpensive type of art that you’ll be able to keep for years after making it.
Sandpainting – the act of using colored sand to create artwork – has been a popular method of art since the dawn of humanity.
Ancient cultures such as Indigenous Australians, Native Americans, and Buddhists in Tibet have used intricate methods to create artwork.
It could be worth letting your child know that the artwork you’re about to create has a long history and people thousands of years ago would have been doing the exact same thing as you!
Why Is Sand Art Good For Your Child?
Sand art is a great way to let your child’s imagination run free. Allowing children to express themselves creatively is a vital part of childhood and development.
Sand art in particular is great for children as it promotes increases in: motor skills, planning, imagination and creativity, concentration, and experience with color.
All of these are great benefits to you and your child. Sand painting is also a great way for you to bond with your child.
Depending on their age, you can help them step by step to make their own decisions and create artwork that they can be proud of. But how to do sand art if you have no clue can be daunting!
How To Do Sand Art
First, it is very important to decide what kind of sand painting you will be doing. The two main choices you have as to the kind of sand painting you’ll set as your project come down to either template or container.
Templated sand art involves either drawing or printing off an outline for your child to follow This can be a favorite character or a landscape. Then your child will sprinkle different colored sand onto this template to create a sand-textured work of art.
Container sand art involves choosing a container and filling it up with different kinds of colored sand to create a gorgeous array of colors. You’ll want to choose an array of different sand colors and layer them.
Both require some preparation, so it’s important to consider what you would like to do in advance so that you have time to plan and buy the needed materials.
Materials Needed To Do Sand Art
For Container art, you’re going to need to make sure you have a few things. Before you begin, gather these items:
A transparent glass bottle
Colored sand (multiple colors)
A funnel
For Templated Sand art, you won’t have to deal with glass bottles, but what you will need is some good paper, pens, and scissors. Here is a full list:
Pens (for outlining)
Scissors
Paper
Colored Sand
Craft glue
Container Sand Art
First, you want to prepare your funnel at the top of your glass bottle so that you will be able to pour sand down it without making too much of a mess.
After this, begin to help your child pour different colors of sand into the bottle. You will want to layer these and make sure they have enough room so that you can see the colors.
Here, your child might go a bit crazy with wanting to mix and match colors, but make sure you explain to them that you are going to have to layer the glass bottle for it to have the desired effect.
Try and vary the colors so that you get a gorgeous rainbow texture. Once you get to the top, you can add extra items if you’d like, such as stones or crystals – but this is not required.
Templated Sand Art
First, create a template for whatever painting you or your child have decided to paint. It could be a character, a landscape, a vehicle, or a building. Whichever it is, you can find templates online to help you with this.
Once you have your template, begin to cover it with craft glue. You want to layer this thick, but not too thick. Too much glue will make your sand go all gloopy!
Now is the part where you can begin to add sand. Do this one color at a time. You should pour the sand onto the glue and then give it a moment to settle. Then, pick up your painting and shake off the excess before beginning to paint with a new color.
Each color/section of your painting should go like this:
Glue – Sand – shake.
Try not to blend colors here by getting them to touch each other. Once you’ve added every color you need you’ll be done! And it’s as simple as that!
Final Thoughts
We hope that this guide has given you some ideas for how you can do sand art with your child. Sand art is a great way to add some color to a rainy afternoon, and if you’re ever stuck for arts and crafts projects to do with your child then we recommend it highly!
We’ve generally found that the container method is the most fun, though this is down to the personal preferences of your child!
We wish you the best on your new sand art adventure!
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Attach Sand To Paper?
The best thing to stick sand to paper is craft glue because of its thickness and ease of application.
However, you can use glue sticks, it’s just that you might get colored sand stuck to them, which is a real nightmare to clean off. Gluestick glue might also not be thick enough to hold large quantities of sand.
Is Sand Art Difficult?
Sand sculptures (the adult form of sand art) are very difficult, mostly because of their scale and the difficulty of sand as a sculpting material.
However, sand art for kids is one of the easiest kinds of art you can do! The only real difficulty is buying the colored sand (as well as cleaning up afterward).
My name is Joyce Bailey, and I am a mother of two wonderful children. When I had my first child five years ago, at first I struggled to know which method of parenting I wanted to adopt. Traditional parenting just did not seem right for my family.
