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Craft Tutorials | Crafts for Kids | Beach Crafts for Kids | Paper Plate Sand Dollars
Beach Crafts for Kids

Paper Plate Sand Dollars

Author by Amanda Davis on July 11, 2018 Updated on May 29, 2020

5 from 1 vote
Make these fun, easy paper plate sand dollars this summer! A fun project, even if you didn't get to visit the beach.
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Easy and fun paper plate sand dollars, great for all ages.
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paper plate sand dollars pin image

 

There’s nothing like a fun beach craft! If you visited the beach but didn’t happen to grab any souvenirs, and you want to recreate that memory with your kids, these Paper Plate Sand Dollars are the perfect way to do so.

White beans shaped like a sand dollar on a paper plate

A visit to the beach often ends in collecting seashells with which you can make these adorable seashell fish. Or maybe you came home with a bag of smooth sea glass, in that case, this sea glass macrame necklace is the perfect project!

But maybe you didn’t bring any of those things home this time. In that case, let’s make these cute paper plate sand dollars instead!

Paper Plate Sand Dollars

Beach crafts are one of my favorite things to do. While I do live in a lake town, I’m smack dab in the middle of the Midwest. Nowhere remotely close to the ocean.

Oh, but I’ve been there, and it’s amazing. I love the sound of the ocean waves crashing on the beach, that constant breeze that comes off the water, and the almost silent chatter of the seagulls. Yes, I love the beach

So making crafts that are reminiscent of the ocean or the beach are fun for me. It brings me back to the days of sitting in a beach chair under an umbrella watching my kids build sand castles and ride boogie boards. If only we lived closer!

By using paper plates in this project, little ones can also get in on the action and get instant gratification, something the attention span of a preschooler needs!

Paper Plate Sand Dollars

What You’ll Need To Make Paper Plate Sand Dollars

  • Miniature paper plates
  • White craft glue
  • Dried white beans
  • Sand


How to make paper plate sand dollars step 1

I used miniature paper plates, but if you want to, you can certainly use regular sized plates. No hard rules here. I used dried white beans, but you could use barley did, or if you want yours to have a little color, yellow split peas would work great.

adding glue dots for beans

  1. Put a dot of white craft glue in the center of the plate, then place dots where you want the tips of each star arm to go.

make a template of the sand dollar with glue

  1. Draw your star with white glue.

gluing on beans to paper plate

  1. Place dried beans along the glue lines.

Dipping edge of plate in sand

  1. Use your finger or a paintbrush to smear the glue around the edge of the plate and dip it in the sand. Let the sand dollars dry completely. Full printable instructions are below!

sand dollar craft made from paper plates and beans

More Beach Crafts for Kids

There are SO many different beach themed craft ideas out there. Lots and lots of cute crafts, I couldn’t imagine containing them all. I’ve listed some of my favorite beach crafts for kids from my site below!

Cardboard Tube Jellyfish
Styrofoam Cup Sea Crabs
Rainbow Jellyfish Craft

Paper Plate Aquarium
Paper Plate Tropical Fish
Sea Shell Creatures

 

Check out all of my paper plate crafts!

Easy and fun paper plate sand dollars, great for all ages.
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5 from 1 vote

Paper Plate Sand Dollars

Make these fun, easy paper plate sand dollars this summer! A fun project, even if you didn't get to visit the beach.
Prep Time5 minutes mins
Crafting Time10 minutes mins
Drying time1 hour hr
Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
Author: Amanda Formaro

Supplies

  • 1 Miniature paper plate
  • 50-60 Dried white beans
  • 1 tablespoon Sand

Craft tools

  • White craft glue or school glue

Instructions

  • Put a dot of white craft glue in the center of the plate, then place dots where you want the tips of each star arm to go. Draw your star with white glue.
  • Place dried beans along the glue lines.
  • Use your finger or a paintbrush to smear glue around the edge of the plate and dip it in sand. Let the sand dollars dry completely.

This post was originally published on this blog on July 7, 2013.

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Amanda Davis
Amanda Davis is the crafty, entrepreneurial mother of four children. She loves to bake, cook, make kid's crafts and create decorative items for her home. She is a crafting expert and guru in the kitchen and has appeared online and in print publications many times over the years.
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Filed Under: Beach Crafts for Kids, Easy Crafts for Kids, Other Kid's Crafts, Paper Plate Crafts for Kids, Summer Crafts Tagged With: beach, beans, ocean, paper plates, summer

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Comments

  1. Jodi Durr says

    July 7, 2013 at 11:57 pm

    Thanks for sharing my everlasting sandcastles here. Great collection of ideas!

    Reply
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