Sand Harmonograph

I had kept this super expensive box from moving because I knew it would be useful one day. I finally found a great use for it, making a simple and contained harmonograph. I found a great idea perusing the Internet of making one with paint. After many failed attempts at getting paint to make lines instead of drops and splatters I asked my Dad for advice. He suggested sand. We have a few jars of colored sand and a plethora of contact paper so I tried that. It worked wonderfully.

The box has a built in bar that I hung our applesauce cup from using yarn and gimp(rexlace). I poked a hole through the applesauce cup using a screwdriver. I taped a few pennies around the cup to weight it down a bit. Then I cut contact paper to fit and placed in the bottom of the box. I had cut an access panel in the side of the box so the girls could see what was happening. I should have made this a tad bit bigger to aid in removing the projects easily. Place sand in the cup and let the girls swing away. Two colors of sand worked great. After a few swings we spooned some white sand over the entire drawing so it would not be sticky. This helped keep the design because I had to fold the contact paper to get it out of the access panel and I didn't want the extra colored sand moving around and wrecking the design.

The girls loved it and I will probably attempt to figure out the right paint consistency. Edith did need some prompting to let go of the string so that it could actually draw a pattern. Overall a big hit.

Addie's is pictured first and then Edith's.