Sand is one of our very favorite sensory materials! It’s so much fun to play and create with and can be used with a group or as a quiet time activity.
My kids can’t get enough of kinetic sand and love all of the different fun colors. I decided to spice up our regular sand play by dyeing sand in our favorite colors. If you want to know how to make colored sand you will love how easy this method is!
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How to Make Colored Sand
The best thing about coloring sand is that it is so simple–you’ll wonder why you wanted so long to do it!
- a bag of play sand in whatever size you want (like this one
) - washable liquid watercolors (the Fluorescent Watercolors are our favorite!)
- quart or gallon size plastic bags (depending on how much sand you want to color)
)
are our favorite!)
We used quart sized bags and filled them about halfway full with the play sand. Then we squirted in a the liquid watercolors and shook the bags. Once the watercolors were covered with sand we put our hands in and mixed it all through.
If the color isn’t bright enough just add more paint and mix again. The nice thing about using liquid watercolors is that they are washable so they don’t stain your hands while you are mixing!
If you want to use the colored sand for sand art then you will want to spread it out to dry. It can take a couple hours to overnight for it to dry depending on how moist the sand is and where you leave it.
If you are using the sand for sensory play you can dig right in!
One more thing before you go…
Liquid watercolors are pricey and you may be thinking it’s just cheaper to buy colored sand. A little bit of liquid watercolor goes a long way and can be used not just for painting, but for so many different kinds of play recipes.
We use ours to dye rice, play dough, pasta and sand. They are also perfect for making homemade sidewalk chalk and bubble prints. The possibilities are endless so think about putting liquid watercolors on your art supply wish list–you’ll be glad you did!
My boys LOVE to get messy with sand. They would have so much fun with the different colors. Sharing! 🙂
The mess is so pretty with colored sand! Ha!
Megan…Your ideas are endless and I thank God for that because they are always AMAZING!! I look forward to your emails as I am always looking for fun things to do w/ my grandkids. However, this one is for MOI’ ! I make a lot of succulent jars (great for a homemade inexpensive gift) and also fairy garden type things so this colored sand will brighten them up so well! Really excited to try it!
Thank you for all of your great ideas Megan!!
On a side note….Do you know if I can buy paint at Michaels?
Yes you can! In the paint section they have liquid watercolors. I adore the idea to add it to succulents–it’s going to be so cool!!!!!
If you water succulent plants in the container, will the sand color lost?
I don’t think so. 🙂 Megan
will this recipe work for succulent plants
I think it would! Just make sure to let it dry well enough before you add the succulents. Let me know how it goes!