Inspired by the upcoming U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge, we built a kids’ sandbox in our backyard. Read about the Sand Sculpting event and how to build your own sandbox.
The U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge
This Labor Day weekend, September 2-5, the biggest sand sculpting contest in the world will happen right here in San Diego. They will bring in 300 tons of sand by the bay in down town San Diego, and artist will work for days to create beautiful sculptures. These sculptures are amazing. Here’s one of last year’s winning entries. Incredible, huh?!
Besides the amazing sculptures, there will also be 7 teams creating more sculptures during the event, so you can watch the artists in action. There will also be an art exposition, rides, food trucks, and live entertainments all weekend long. But my family is most looking forward to the Kidzone with sandcastle building lessons taught by a professional artist. We love building sand castles.
You can read more about the U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge and purchase discount tickets online at www.ussandsculpting.com.
We love sand sculpting. We love it so much that we recently built a sand box for my kids to practice their sand sculpting skills. And since this is a DIY blog, I get to share how we made the sandbox.
How to Build a Sandbox
We had a space near our patio that didn’t have much purpose. We’d tried making it into a planter with a cinder block border, but the space is half in shade and half in sun, and the sun changed through the year. Nothing grew very well there. Since it is right next to our patio, it is the perfect spot for a sandbox.
We repurposed some boards from an old gate for the edges of the box. Here’s, my daughter sanding down the old boards. I’m so proud of my little girl learning to use power tools!
We used some of my worn navy Varathane stain from Rust-Oleum to cover the boards. I’ve used that stain for two benches and several flower pots on the patio. I love how it looks with the orange terra-cotta floor.
We drilled pocket holes with a Kreg Jig to connect the boards of the sandbox together securely.
We cleaned up the space for the sandbox and removed the cinderblocks. Then we dug down the at the edges for the boards to fit into.
We set the boards in the edges and tried to make them even with the planter next to it. There are actually only three boards to border the sandbox. The terra-cotta planter edge makes the fourth side.
However, we had to add a small board next to the planter to attach the landscaping fabric.
The entire bottom of the sandbox is lined with landscaping fabric so that the dirt doesn’t get into the sand. We used fabric instead of plastic so that when it rains, the fabric will let the water drain. A sandbox shouldn’t turn into a pond when it rains.
We used a heavy-duty stapler to attach the landscaping fabric to the boards every few inches.
We bought play sand to fill the sandbox. I remember when I was a kid, my parents drove to the beach to get sand for our sandbox. We decided to buy the sand for our yard. It doesn’t cost very much, and I know there won’t be any germs or other gross things in the sand.
My toddler helped his dad fill up the sandbox. And yes, that’s the Batmobile in the background.
My toddler absolutely LOVES his sandbox. So do his two older sisters. They make so many fun creations in there.
We can’t wait to go to the big sandbox at the US Sand Sculpting Challenge to learn how to make better sand creations from a professional sculptor. We’re ready to up our game, and checking out the amazing three-dimensional sand art will be inspirational.
