These adorable DIY Beach Sand Handprint Ornaments are so fun and easy to make with little kids. They’re perfect to make while on vacation at the beach or even at home in your backyard sandbox. These make the perfect beach vacation keepsake to look back on when the kids are all grown up. They’re so simple to make, and the result is really cute. All you need is a few inexpensive materials and a little time.

Every Summer my family and I take an extended beach vacation in Captiva Island, Florida. It’s the cutest, quaint little beach town where we spend a week soaking up the last little bits of Summer before the kids head back to school. I’m always looking for new and exciting activities for the kids to do when they’re all beached out or when it rains.

This year we made sand clay (with sand from the beach) and turned it into this adorable Beach Sand Handprint Keepsake.

I love any kind of handprint crafts for kids. They are such a cute way to preserve memories of when your kids are young. This one in particular is perfect for creating a memory from this vacation, and the kids had a blast making them.

In this blog post, you’ll find a recipe and a tutorial to make a DIY Beach Sand Handprint Keepsake

DIY Beach Sand Handprint Keepsake

What You Need- Dough Ingredients

2 cups of Sifted Beach Sand (use 1 cup to split in half)

1 cup Warm Water (use 1/2 cup to split in half)

1  1/4 cups of Morton Iodized Salt (use 5/8 cup to split in half)

1  1/2 cup All-Purpose (3/4 cup to split in half)

*Makes enough dough for 4 small handprints

Extras

Shells From the Beach or Crafting Shells

Parchment Paper

Rolling Pin

Baking Sheet

Modge Podge (optional)

Want to Split the Recipe in Half?

If dough for 4 handprints is too much and you want less dough then use the measurements I put in parentheses above.

Make Your DIY Beach Sand Handprint Keepsake

First

Set your oven to 250 F and then combine all of the dry ingredients – sand, flour, and salt-  in a mixing bowl.

Second

Slowly add warm water to the sand while mixing it. The goal is to create a dough-like mixture so if you add too much water by accident, then add more flour and sand. You don’t want the dough to be too sticky.

Third

Separate the dough into 4 balls. If you split the recipe, separate it into 2 balls. Then cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, sprinkle with flour,  and then roll out the balls so they’re about 1/2″ thick.

Pr0 Tip: Since I made these while on vacation I did not have a rolling pin. Instead, I used a smooth, refillable water bottle. 

Fourth

Gently press your child’s hand into the dough, leaving room around the handprint to decorate with shells. Using a toothpick, or anything pointy, write your child’s name and date under their handprint. This step is optional.

Fifth

Add small beach shells around the outside to decorate. Try pressing the rough side of the shell into the dough to make impressions. Bake in the oven for 5  hours. If the bottom of your Beach Sand Handprint Keepsake is still soft, use a spatula to flip it over and bake for another 2 hours. The goal is for it to be as hard as a rock!

Optional

You can seal your keepsake with Modge Podge but if you prefer a more natural look then skip the gloss.

There’s nothing I love more than creating memories in the form of crafts with my son. This DIY Beach Sand Handprint keepsake is so cute and easy to make. We had a blast creating them on our family beach vacation. These ornaments will be perfect to hang on the Christmas tree this year, and we’ll have a fun reminder of our wonderful beach trip.

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Meagan

Hi! I’m Meagan and I’m a 41 year old mom of a high energy almost 9 year old, happily navigating my way through the little boy years. I’ve been married for 14 years. I met my husband over 20 years ago in high school; we got married 10 years later after graduating from the University of South Florida. I currently help run a family business with my parents while blogging about my life and love of DIY projects!

When I’m not at a kids sports game, I enjoy spending time with my family on a beach anywhere. I also love decorating and organizing, fun DIY projects, bargain shopping, and eating out or in! I also love Barbecue anything and a good show or movie on Netflix.