Want to impress the kids on your next trip to the beach? Then it’s time to up your sandcastle game. We asked Karen Fralich, a judge on CBC’s sand-sculpting competition show, Race Against the Tide (you can watch all four seasons free through gem.cbc.ca), for beginner tips. The sculpting teams on the show are world-class, but anyone can try it. “Sand is an amazing medium,” says Fralich, an artist and a five-time world champion sand sculptor. Some people sketch out their designs first; others, like Fralich, fly by the seat of their pants. “It depends on what inspires you,” she says. “But as long as your heart’s in it…the sky’s the limit.”
5 simple sand crafts that kids will love
1) Keep it simple. Try sculpting a turtle, a dolphin, a shell, or a stingray. Stingrays are great subjects, says Fralich. Sure, they aren’t especially cottagey. But they are flat.
2) Raid your kitchen for tools. Plastic forks are good for adding texture, and knives are helpful for carving details and smooth, straight lines. Spoons are good for scooping. Even better? A melon baller. (How many melons are you regularly balling anyway?) A straw is useful for blowing away “crumbs.” Combined with a shovel and some buckets, “you have a basic tool kit,” says Fralich.
3) “Sand is different all over the world,” says Fralich. “It varies from beach to beach.” But—and this should come as no surprise—the best sand for sculpting “is hard, wet, very compacted sand.”
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4) If you notice a crack forming in your sculpture—say, when building a tall tower—remove weight from the top, and pack the sides of the sculpture with a layer of wet sand to buttress the structure. That said, “Unfortunately, a lot of times when a sculpture starts to crack, you have to go to plan B,” Fralich admits. Stingray it is!
5) Unlike pretty much every other beach activity, there is almost no bad weather when it comes to sand sculpting. “You’d be surprised by how little rain affects sculpting,” says Fralich. “Rain just makes the people miserable.” Strong wind is the only real killjoy. “It erodes the edges and details of the sculpture, and dries out the sand,” she says. Possibly worse? It then blows that sand directly into your face.
This article was originally published in the August 2024 issue of Cottage Life.
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