DIY Beach Sand Vases

UPDATE: To address the many concerns about the illegal removal of sand from beaches, please note I did not break any "local" laws! BUT in a lot of locations this is indeed forbidden so it's best to purchase sand at a local hardware store for this project.
Do you love beach decor items but not the price tag at some of the fancy souvenir stores? I have an easy solution, that is if you have access to a small amount of sand from a nearby beach. You can make customized beach decor for your home with sand, food coloring and a vase, it's easy peasy!


First I sifted with a simple kitchen utensil, I wanted the larger particles out of the sand and use only the finest for my project.






Next I added drops of food coloring to the sand and mixed in until I got the desired color I wanted.






Below are some of the colors I came up with along with the naturally red sand from Prince Edward Island which is very different from our natural colored sand.






Next I added a recycled food can inside the vase upside down which saved the amount of sand I'd need to fill it, but it also acted as a base to put the candle on. The black sand came from another item that I recycled to add another color to the vase. I rolled a sheet of paper to use as a funnel to pour in the different layers in a wavey pattern.






The last layer was a Michael's bag of gold stones to add a different texture to the look and lastly the candle was put in place.






I was on a roll and created several of these to give as gifts to friends! This one has the rust colored PEI sand and my province, Newfoundland which is the gray sand.






Red sand from a recycled craft and the natural gray along with black pebbles and a candle. This vase I etched the names of a newly married couple onto as a gift for their new home.






This style I put the recycled food can in with an opening at the top so it could be used as a vase for florals or as a candle holder.






It has the black, natural gray and a rose shade that I mixed up. The options are endless what you can create, go ahead and have fun is the main part! I did...perhaps too much!!! Ha-hah!














Original article and pictures take http://www.hometalk.com/12347373/diy-beach-sand-vases site