“My Summer” Beach Bottle

This sunny craft will bring you closer to the beach with just a few materials and a little bit of creativity.

Whoever said that you actually have to live on a beach in order to capture the essence of one? With the help of your child’s imagination and a few simple supplies, the two of you can create a fun summer souvenir that will serve as a sweet reminder of your time together.

Here are the supplies you’ll need:

• Sand from either a beach, garden supply store, home improvement store or local craft store
• One clear plastic or glass bottle with a cap
• Colored chalk
• Wax paper
• Cutting board
• Seashells and/or sea glass (from the beach, or craft store)
• One pencil or equal-length stick
• A funnel (optional)
• Glue (optional)

Here’s how to make it:

1. Cover your workspace with newspaper; it will keep your “beach” from expanding over too much ground!
2. Lay a sheet of wax paper over your cutting board and carefully pour some sand over it.
3. Take a piece of colored chalk and run it across the sand until all of it matches the chalk’s color. Be careful as you move – things can get messy otherwise!
4. Lift the wax paper at two opposite ends and shake so that the sand collects in the center.
5. Pour the sand into your bottle. It’s best to use the funnel if the bottleneck is exceptionally slim.
6. Using either a stick or the eraser end of a pencil, make dips in the sand to compact that layer of color.
7. Repeat steps 1–6 until several layers of colored sand fill the bottle to the top.
8. Finally, if your bottle has a cap, press it on firmly to compact and hold the sand in place.
9. If you don’t have a bottle cap, it’s best to leave roughly ½” of space at the top. You can compact the sand with your pencil or stick and then seal the empty space with a layer of glue.