I grew up about 30 minutes from the beach. I was always there as a kid playing in the sand, as a teenager laying out with my friends, and as a twenty-something shopping & laying out. I love the beach – I mean, who doesn’t?! The one thing I don’t love about the beach is the sand you find everywhere afterwards. It isn’t until you get home and take a full, deep, cleansing shower that you will completely rid yourself of all things sand.
Well, with this activity, you can bring the sand home, but it stays in a pretty little jar. No shower is needed ;)
So, let’s make a "beach in jar"!
What, you might ask, is a "beach in a jar"? Well, with some jars, sand, shells, and sea glass, we’ll put it together to make our very own "beach in a jar". This is a fun activity for the kiddos to learn about the beach & and enjoy a sensory experience playing with the sand & shells – yippee!
This is also something you can make with the kiddos as a memento from your favorite beach or a family vacation spot :)
Supplies you will need:
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jars (I repurposed baby food jars – little T went through them like a starving cheetah!)
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sand (I acquired mine from the actual beach – HA! – really, I’m NOT joking, I filled up a grocery bag full of sand & brought it back home with me! But, if you are not crazy like me, they do sell sand at craft stores or Amazon too.)
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sea glass (you can buy it by the bag at craft stores or Amazon )
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sea shells (you can also get this in a bag at craft stores or Amazon )
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washi tape (for the label) – check out my washi tape board for other cool ideas for using washi tape!)
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white address labels (for the words on the washi tape)
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circle labels (for the kids names on the top – I used these 1 1/4” round labels in “gravel” from Paper Source)
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hemp cord
(for jar decoration)
Now, by no means do you have to do all of these things…but my over-achiever-ness, detail oriented mind can’t stop :)
Tools you will need:
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hot glue gun & glue (to seal the lid of the jar shut when you are done, because they will want to bring it EVERYWHERE, and you don’t want that sand EVERYWHERE, do you?)
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cup (for sea glass & shells)
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bowl (for sand)
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spoon (to scoop sand)
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white high gloss spray paint (to spray the lids of the jars the night before)
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dust buster (to vacuum up sand – okay, now I’m micro managing – okay, I’ll stop now ;)
Happy beachin’ sand-free! :)
I love this idea! I want to make something like this for my mom but I want to do half sand and half “water” a friend told me to use blue gel to fake the water look but I’m looking for other options, do you have any ideas by any chance!?
hmmmm not sure – maybe you could seal the sand somehow with a sealant. But I came across this tutorial using vegetable oil, maybe that’s helpful :) http://www.education.com/activity/article/Ocean_In_a_Bottle/ Good luck! xx M
such a cute way to bring some of the beach home – which kids always seem to want to do!!!!!
Thanks for sharing on the Sunday Showcase. Hope to see you this week.
Thanks! Thanks for stopping by & taking the time to leave your kind words too :) I’ll definitely be back this week!
xx ♥ m
Love it! Such a great idea for the kiddos and they are so pretty too! :) I grew up close to the beach as well but now we are far, far away. So this is a great way to introduce it to my girl! I’m so glad I found you and all your fun projects!
Thanks Britni! Love that I have made a connection with you in the bloggy world too :) :) :)
xx ♥ m
Such a cute way to remember every beach you visit! Now I wish I had started this a few years ago…
Thanks Jocelyn! :) Thanks for stopping by – love your blog & all it’s yummi-ness! :)
xx ♥ m