How to make molds with sand! Fun kids craft!

Looking for a fun summertime craft for the kids?  It occurred to me that one of the most versatile ways of creating a mold would be to use sand.  And there is certainly plenty of that around in the summer!

So with that in mind, I located an object that I wanted to mold and created some sweet wall hangings using bath toy animals to mold for a cute piece of nursery art.  This goes to show you that there are tons of possibilities with this concept.

Affiliate links below:

For this project I used:

Plastic animal bath toys (you can use anything here- a knick knack, a toy, a seashell)
About 2 cups of fine decorative sand
A plastic container
Plaster of Paris
Acrylic paint
Water
Safety pins

Pour the sand into a plastic container.  The container that you choose will determine the size and shape of your casted pieces, so you can create a bunch of variety here.

I chose a relatively square container, as I had in mind a set of four wall pieces.  The sand is a decorative sand that you can purchase at your local craft store.  It is a fine sand and will show your details when casting.

Add enough water to the sand so that is can be compacted and hold its shape.  Smooth off the top with a spoon to create a smooth, even layer.

For this project I used plastic animal bath toys, but any small toy will work!

Press the toy firmly into the sand, creating an image in the sand.

Now we are ready to cast the mold!  Click here for next steps!