Building a castle is buckets of fun, so why not make a few with your kids during your Ocean Isle Beach vacation this summer? All you need are sand, water, a few household items, and some helping hands. Don’t worry, we’ll provide the sand, pristine beaches, and beautiful Carolina sun. What more could you ask for?
What You’ll Need
The tools you’ll need for making a magnificent sand castle are cheap and easy to find. You might even have many of the tools of the trade laying around the house or kitchen. Here are the basics:
Shovel for scooping and packing
Small bucket for shaping towers
Paint stirrer which are great for sketching shapes
Measuring spoons and melon baller for making windows
Spatulas for smoothing and creating shapes
Large buckets for hauling water and building
Have A Plan
Before you start it’s a good idea to have an idea of what you want to build. Of course, this might be like herding cats with the really little ones in the family, or it might be an excellent way to give them direction. Either way, for the serious sand castle builder having a plan is an essential first step.
Follow These Easy Steps For Success
Step 1. Outline & Dig
Before you send the kids on a digging spree, first outline the area you want to have for the sandcastle. Think of this like coloring within the lines. Then shovel sand from outside the lines into the center of your outline to form a large mound, a really large mound. The pile should be a little bit taller than the first floor of the planned castle since you’ll probably end up carving a lot of it away. The more sand the bigger the castle can be.
Step 2. Pack The Sand
Use your hands or the shovel to pack the sand down. This is the easiest way to build the walls of the sandcastle. Remember that just like a real wall you will want to be careful of building the walls too high or thin.
Step 3. Add Water
Perhaps this is the simplest and most fun step. Send the kids running back and forth to the surf for buckets of water. Add the buckets of water to the center of the mound to form a pond, and then pour evenly around the inside so as not to create weak spots in your castle.
Step 4. Begin To Build
This is when having different buckets, molds and shapes can be a lot of fun. Pack the molds with sand and add water. Remember the water is like glue. Then flip over the mold to create shapes.
Step 5. Make The Towers
Castles have to have towers. The best way to make the perfect towers every time is to buy inexpensive moulds at the local shops. The molds are super cheap and they towers will be perfect every time.
Step 6. Carve Your Designs
There is no end to the type of shapes you can create or the designs you incorporated into your castle. A smooth stick like a paint stirring stick is perfect for creating and smoothing shapes and designs.
Advanced Techniques and Tips
Use A Butter Knife
Butter knives have nice round edges, are safe for the kids, perfect for cutting finer details, and they don’t remove too much material at one time.
Find Interesting Molds
Hit the hardware store and look for different size buckets, interesting containers, and even PVC pipe to give you more design features.
Set Up Near The Waterline
The sand near the waterline is firmer and will provide better support for your castle. Just don’t get too close.
Looking to find your actual Ocean Isle Beach vacation castle? We can help. From oceanfront to canal front we have a large inventory of homes from smaller condos to large homes for big parties. Give us a call today at 800-727-9222 or click the button below to find the perfect vacation castle for your family.
Did you make an amazing Sandcastle? Share your secrets by leaving a comment below.
