I have a new mission today: figuring out how to make another sand tray!
My last sand tray lasted a few months, which isn't too bad... but I had to throw it out cuz it got really gross. I think it was my fault for using a cardboard box and putting water in it.
I'm trying to find a different type of sand other than what I used last time, as the last stuff was quite dusty and I had to water it down all the time (okay, so I also just like playing with water and sand...). But the only places I can find good sand sell it in 50 pound bags, which is a bit obsessive.
I think I also I need to have like a plastic container this time... although I don't want it to look ugly... and I don't really want it to be see-thru... I'd love a wood one, to make it look more like a 'real' sand tray. But how do you get a wood box/tray that's waterproof that you can put sand in?
And no, I can't just buy a real sand tray cuz 1) part of the fun is in making it and 2) check out how much those things cost- play therapy supplies are EXPENSIVE!!!
*sniffles* I miss my sand tray... I have a need to express myself right now, and I can't without it....
If you get rid of the pain before you have answered its questions, you get rid of the self along with it.
--Carl Jung
if you're only after a small one try a cat litter tray and (dunno if this bit is legal...) visit your nearest beach? maybe collect a handful of sand for your tray from as many beaches as poss (on holidays etc) as memories of your trip! mand x
Mand, South Wales, Full-time working, single mother to 2 scarily independent girls.
I AM A PROUD PLUMERIA SISTER
I think I have what is going to be my tray! I'm still deciding on the sand though... If I got it from the beach that wouldn't be too hard, as I'm super close to the beach and surf all the time... although, it's just ever so slightly illegal to take it from most beaches around here. Haha, I could just see me using a bucket to put it all in to my sand tray, and carrying it back to my car and getting caught lmao No, I could get sand from the beach.... and might end up doing that... but the sand at the beach is pretty gross and dirty and contaminated with who knows what germs (usually I'm not that paranoid, but I got MRSA like last summer when I got hurt surfing and the wound got infected at the beach, it was gross and they had to do some minor surgeries a few times to get it to clear up!)
If you get rid of the pain before you have answered its questions, you get rid of the self along with it.
--Carl Jung
A tray... with sand in.. Aimee :P Quite literally.
If you wanted a wood one you could just line it with lino/a black bin liner, making it watrerproof and the wood not start to rot?
"Be nice. Think happy thoughts. Champion silver linings. Love all things (not just cute things like babies and kittens) & when you do love - love like they do in power ballads (you know like on a cliff with the wind in your hair and your eyes shut, knowing you'll never know love like this). Watch out for dog poo. Smile at people - even grumpy ones. Remember anything is possible & whatever you do always try to look on the bright side."
You can probs buy some wood preservatives to coat it which could make it waterproof but you'd proably have to coat it regularly especially with sand being quite abrasive.
I'm intrigued like CrAimmee, what do you use a sand tray for? It might be a stupid question but I've never heard of one before (except maybe for use as a cat litter tray, is that what it's for?).
Use wood that has water resistant qualities (i think teak is used on boats, etc)... and then you can treat it, or line it to create a barrier between the wood and the sand.... but it would be good enough if you just use a good wood type ;]
i have had a great idea... i know you said you didnt want a plastic one but.... you can buy sticky-backed-plastic that looks like wood. then you get an under-bed box, they're long and fairly shallow and best of all... comes with a lid, so keeps your sand safe. at the beach just go walking and empty what gathers in your shoes into your box. you can clean it by lining a sieve with paper towel and washing a lot of the dirt through.
or oyu could do what a friend does, i asked her what she used in hers and she gave me these ideas.
she uses coloured sand, like you get in those 'sand art' packets. she said for excitement you can mix in lentils and dried good for your characters to 'find'. I went round to see hers and she has a 'log cabin' made out of glued together pasta tubes (quills), she also tipped a packet of conchinelli (i think) - tiny pasta shells into her box for seashells and she bought a plactic thimble to make some sandcastles with.
She uses sand that she gets from a builders yard, the coarse stuff that they use for cement.
mand x
Mand, South Wales, Full-time working, single mother to 2 scarily independent girls.
I AM A PROUD PLUMERIA SISTER
I made mine out of wood from a lumber store. I bought plywood for the bottom and 1x4 for the sides. I stained them the color I wanted and sprayed the inside with a blue water marine paint. This blue marine paint is what makes the tray water proof. I am still trying to figure out the best and cheapest sand. My tray is pretty large so 25-50 lbs is fine for me. Sand from the beach can have bacteria in it and is usually illegal to remove. Not good to use in a sand tray. Sand box play sand sticks to your hands and items that you put in the sand box, so I did not like that either. Plus it is too gritty. I found very nice decorative sand at craft stores, but they are very small bags and it would cost a fortune to fill my tray. I went to the pet store to buy fish today and saw sand for fish aquariums and also some nice reptile sand. These are very fine, soft, and smooth. I found some that was natural and did not have any added dyes or other chemicals. I heard some sand tray therapists use sand from home improvement stores/lumber yards like paving sand. I heard fine grain sand (grade 30) is best. There are a lot of websites that advertise sand for sand trays but you have to watch the cost of shipping. Sand comes in many colors so that is one benefit about buying from these sites. The reptile sand comes in a lot of colors too. It is very soft and very affordable. Any local pet store sells it. I am still debating whether to get reptile sand from a pet store or buy sand tray sand off the internet. I liked the feel of the reptile sand. The one I found was all natural desert sand.
