Sand Footprints

last week we spent the entire week camping at the beach. i had planned a few crafts for the kiddies in case they got bored....which they didn't. they rode their bikes, played at the beach, went surfing, played in the dirt and did a few of the crafts i brought.

i thought it would be fun for them to make footprints in the sand and to pour plaster of paris into them. we found the idea on Tori Spelling's blog. love it.

it ended up being a little trickier than i thought, but by day two, i figured it out. after realizing that you can not use ocean water (i should have followed the directions on using CLEAN water) and that you can not just keep on adding water to keep the plaster pliable, i managed to get the cutest little footprints of baby.

the boys made handprints and round thingy-m-jiggys that they added shells and sea glass too. they had fun, and unfortunately i didn't get a pictures of the creations they made.

here is how to make your own print in the sand:

Sand Footprints

what you need:

• plaster of paris

• CLEAN water

• disposable cup or bowl

• rope or twine (optional)

• shells, rocks & sea glass (optional)

directions:

• make your footprints, handprints or shape in the sand, making sure it is deep enough to hold your plaster. (slightly wet sand makes the best prints)

• if you want to add shells & rocks...nows is the time. place them along the bottom of your sand print holes. sea glass makes pretty fingernails in handprints.

• in a disposable cup or bowl, mix your plaster of paris according to the directions. you only have a very short window of opportunity to make your prints before it hardens up, so be ready to pour!

• carefully pour the plaster into the sand molds you made.

• gently press in rope into each print to make a hanger (optional)

• let the plaster sit for at least 20 minutes to completely harden.

• whala! sand prints.

the baby prints turned out adorable....much cuter than i thought. i am going to hang them in our travel trailer to remind us of this years camping trips. hope you can try this fun project....you could do this at a park as well. but beware....it does create a bit of a mess (or maybe i am just messy).

happy crafting,

jill, jack, kyle & baby

(p.s. did you see the sneak peak of my new kitchen cupboards....the only good thing that came out of the house flood.)