Sand Art Self Portraits

If you ever had a bunch of colored sand and had no idea what to do with it, Sand Art Self Portraits might just be the way to go. We had a major sand art session recently at the art studio and young and old didn't want to stop. This is such a fun process. You'll need... colored sand white squeeze glue (these little bottles are perfect) an assortment of canvases big oneslittle onesmedium ones Steps The first step is to teach the kids the process of adding glue and then sand to their canvas. Tips I used were to kiss the board with the tip of your glue so the tip is touching the board as you squeeze the glue. This prevents big puddles from happening. I recommend you use the small glue bottles I linked to above. They will also help prevent big puddles. And of course, the older the kids are, the more advanced they will be at this. We found that kids 6 and up were the most engaged in this process and successful in terms of realistic results. Next step is to "draw" your self portrait shape by shape with glue. After you do each shape, you sprinkle on the color sand you want, then lightly tap the excess sand back into it's container. For example, "draw" the circle for the head and cover with pink sand. Lightly tip the canvas over the pink sand container and tap the side to slide in the excess sand. Then, start your next shape or detail. We had an amazing grandma join in on the fun. Her and her granddaughter did a whole family series of sand art portraits. It was awesome. Continue to "draw" details with your glue bottle and then add the desired sand color. The lines come out surprisingly sharp if you make thin lines of glue for your drawing. Continue until you have all the details that you want and let dry. That's it. You can sit down and do it with your whole family and then send them to the grandparents. They'd love them! Happy sand painting! xo, Meri Cherry