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Holiday and Seasonal Sand Jar
If you want to add a colorful, "natural look" item to a shelf or
table top, these blend in really well with any decor. They can
also be as small or as large as you want because you determine
the size of the glass containers. Choose colors to match each
holiday or season (orange/yellow/black for Halloween;
red/white/blue for patriotic holidays; etc.) for interchangeable
decorating.
MATERIALS
* 1 Jar (an empty, clean baby food jar makes a nice small Sand
Jar, espEecially, to practice with)
* bags of colored sand (at least three different colors of your
choice)
* Candle(s) (a colorful candle to be melted to add even more
color to the jar...how much wax is needed depends on the size of
the container's top...or block candle wax, if the container
opening is too large for dripping melting "everyday" candles
* Toothpick (or thin skewer, if the container is large)
* Kitchen plastic wrap (optional)
* Candle wick (optional)
* Seasonal/Holiday items for attaching
DIRECTIONS
STEP ONE
Each layer of sand you pour into the jar should fill
approximately 1/3 of it.
Pour (A) color sand into the jar. (enough to fill 1/3 of the jar)
Pour (B) color sand into the jar. (enough to fill the second 1/3
of the jar)
Pour (C) color sand into the jar. (enough to fill the last 1/3
of the jar)
STEP TWO
Take a toothpick and gently 'dig' once into the sand near the
side of the jar and scrape the toothpick back up and out of the
jar, touching the inside glass as you go -- (one "dig" and bring
the toothpick back out of the jar). Make more single digs at
intervals all around the jar to create a mixed color pattern.
STEP THREE
(NOTE: Children may need supervision or help with this next
step. Caution is advised because of the flame of the candle and
the fact that the wax will be hot!)
Light a candle and drip the wax down onto the top of the sand
until the wax creates a layer that 'seals' the sand inside the
jar and (as much as possible) preserves the design that you've
created. If the container opening is so large that it will be
too time-consuming to use this drip method, simply melt some wax
in a pan (one that you use for non-cooking purposes) on the
stove. Pour the melted wax into the container opening. Be
careful with this! Let cool.
STEP FOUR
If this is to be used as a gift, place a piece of plastic wrap
across the top of the jar and tie a very thin ribbon or several
colorful ribbons around the top 'neck' of the jar to hold the
plastic wrap in place. Tie or glue on any seasonal or holiday
decoration to the bow of the ribbon(s). If it is not for a gift,
omit the plastic wrap and tie the ribbon(s) around the neck.
Then, tie or glue the decoration directly to the ribbon.
DIRECTIONS FOR THE CANDLE WICK SAND JAR
Follow the directions above, however, put a piece of candle wick
(about 1" longer than the jar is high) into the jar and hold in
the center as you pour each layer of sand into the jar. Follow
the step above for sealing the sand and wick into the jar and
finishing the project. Make sure though, that the wick sticks
out beyond the wax seal.
OPTION
You can use more than three colors of sand to give the jar even
more complexity. Of course, you can also choose to use only two
colors of sand. The design will not be as vibrant though.
Also, how you layer the sand will add to the design effect. For
instance, if you use three colors of sand and decide to use more
of one color than the other two, your design will not be evenly
layered into thirds, but there will be a dominant color in the
scheme in the layering.
Whatever color combinations you decide upon, experiment and
enjoy the crafting!!
About the author:
Regenia G. Butcher is an author on a site for Creative Writing (
http://www.Writing.Com/ ). She is also a crafter and is
currently working on a "quirky" word reference book. She usually
not only sees the glass half full, but rejoices that there IS a
glass. You can visit her portfolio at
http://www.sensity.writing.com.
Written by: Regenia G. Butcher
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