Craft Ideas for Sand Dollars

Create simple but beautiful crafts using sand dollars, whether you find them on the beach or buy them from a craft store. The different kinds of crafts that you can make using sand dollars range from jewelry to home decorations. Wear your sand dollar craft or use it to decorate your home for a tropical feel.

Sand Dollar Shadow Box

Create wall art by making a sand dollar shadow box. For this project you'll need a shadow box in the size of your choice and several pieces of sand dollars. Use a hot glue gun to stick the sand dollars in place in whatever pattern you like. Fill the entire box with rows of sand dollars or choose a border that's 1 or 2 inches thick and place sand dollars inside the frame. Likewise, you can mix and match sand dollars and other shells to display.

Sand Dollar Pencil Holder

You'll need several sand dollars, an empty tomato sauce can and air-drying clay. Clean out the tomato sauce can and let it dry. Wrap the can with air-drying clay about 3/8 inch thick. Press the sand dollars into the clay while it's still wet. After the clay dries, use markers to decorate your pencil holder. Write your name and the date on the bottom of the pencil holder so you'll remember it for many years.

Night-Light

Buy a basic night-light at any local retail store. Remove the plastic shade and find a sand dollar that covers the bulb. Put hot glue on the night-light clip and glue the sand dollar on the clip. The sand dollar shouldn't touch the light bulb. Wait until the glue dries to plug the night-light into a wall electrical outlet.

Sand Dollar Curtain

Make a sand dollar curtain or room divider using a wooden rod and clear fishing line. The wooden rod should be the length of the window or doorway where the curtain will hang. The amount of sand dollars that you need will depend on the length of the curtain and the space you have between each sand dollar. String the fishing line through the holes in the sand dollars one by one leaving enough string on top of each strand to tie it on the rod. When you finish stringing all of the sand dollars, tie each one on the wooden rod. Space each string as close or as far apart as you want.

Sand Dollar Earrings

To make sand dollar earrings you'll need two looped ear wires, two jump rings and chain-nose or round-nose jewelry pliers. Use the pliers to open the jump ring so that you can pull it through the hole that's closest to the sand dollar's edge. Use the pliers to bring the two ends of the jump ring back together. Open the loop in the ear wire using the pliers and secure the loop on the jump ring. Secure two or three more jump rings on the first one if you want a longer pair of earrings.