I've always wanted a mini Zen Garden but I just never seem to acquire one for some reason. I've always thought they were cute.
I was brainstorming with Grady the other night for ideas on what kind of product I could make with the kids at the Beyond Wild Youth Program I run, and Grady suggested we make Zen Gardens. OMG. What a brilliant idea! We can make them with the kids, and then they can sell them at the local Farmer's Market to raise money for the program. The kids make them, sell them, and reap the rewards. So awesome. Love it. It's an awesome idea on so many levels.
I researched on-line to try and find some supplies for mini Zen Gardens but everything was really expensive. I have to be able to make them cheap so that a decent profit can be made. So, I visited my trusty old friend, THE DOLLAR STORE, after work today and figured out what I needed. I picked up some sand, rocks, beads, sticks, crazy glue, and photo frames.
We tried this project out tonight for Family Night, knowing that if it worked, we'd do it for a summer project with Beyond Wild. Here's what we did.
Before we started, I printed off a secret saying, and put it in the frame.
Then, we glued four beads on the bottom of the frame that will act as cute little legs once it's turned over.
Then, we poured in the sand. We used colored sand but then realized later on, once we raked it, that this sand is too course and the rake doesn't leave cool lines in it. We'll have to find some finer sand.
Check out the cute little leg...
Then, we carefully glued the rake together. This is harder then it looks and if you find an easier way, let me know! We used the glue gun and then reinforced it with crazy glue later on.
Then we embellished with some rocks...
And here's the finished product:
Voila! Aren't they cute? I think this process was successful for the most part and I'm definitely going to make these with the youth group for a fundraiser. I think they'll sell like hot cakes!
