Sand "Clay" - Preserve Your Sand Creations Forever!

Did you just make that perfect sand castle only to be disappointed when you had to leave the beach? Wouldn't you like some memory of the beach other than the seemingly endless piles of sand coming out of your shoes and socks? Well now that's a thing of the past...safely preserve your sand memories using 3 easy ingredients.

Step 1: What You Need

You will need:

- 2 cups of sand

- 3/4 to 1 cup of white glue

- 1/2 to 1 cup of cornstarch

- A mixing bowl and a mixing tool that will be easy to clean glue and sand off of

- Any modelling tools you wish to use to shape your sand

- Gloves (if you want)

Step 2: Mixing

First, add your sand and cornstarch to the bowl and mix them together. Slowly add glue and continue to mix until it all starts to combine. Your goal is to get this mixture to turn into a dough-like substance. If it starts to get to a breadcrumb-like texture try "kneading" it together with your hands. If it starts to get too dry, you can add a little water if your sand was pretty dry, otherwise just add more glue. If it feels too moist and won't hold its shape, add some more cornstarch (unless you've completely overdone it, in which case you may need to add more sand instead). By now the sand mixture should start to feel like a dough.

Step 3: Playtime

Now that it's all mixed up, you can go ahead and do whatever you want with it! Our goal was to make footprints in the sand, so we shaped the sand into rectangles and then added small rocks to look like feet (it's easier to understand if you look at the picture of it above). Depending on how long it took for you to mix the sand up and how moist it is, you may want to hurry, or else it could start to dry and harden while you're still working.

Step 4: Time to Dry Them

Once you've completed your amazing designs, there are two ways to dry the sand out. You can either just set them out to dry overnight, or if you're a bit impatient (like me), you can put them in the oven on a baking sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper so that the sand wouldn't stick) at around 210 degrees for 2-3 hours, depending on how thick/moist your sand designs are. If you opted to put them in the oven, simply take them out, let them cool, and voilà, your awesome sand creations are permanently preserved!

Oh and by the way, don't forget to vote for me! I'll be your best friend! ;)