Sand Dollar Transformation

In my previous post about our vacation I mentioned that we were able to find sand dollars on the beach, so I thought I would share the process we used for bleaching them.

When you first collect them they are brown and have little spines all over them.  We let them sit in the sun to dry out.

Then we soaked them in plain water to get the sand off of them.  You soak for a little bit, and rinse until the water comes out clean.  That way all of the sand is removed.

After that it is time for the bleach.  Use a 30% bleach to water mixture and soak the sand dollars for about 15 minutes, then let them sun dry.  After they are dried if they are not as white as you would like you just soak them in the bleach/water mixture again for another 10-15 minutes until white enough.  And they should turn out somewhat like this:

So what are we going to do with these you may ask?  Well along with a few other purchases that we made on vacation, we plan on redecorating the guest bathroom upstairs.  Here is a sneak peak at some of the other items that will be used:

Candle Pedestals from Pier One

Sea shells from the beach

Shell dish from the Harry and David Outlet store in Hilton Head

Shell we bought from a little shop in Hilton Head

 Night light from St. Francis Thrift Store from Hilton Head (it was only 50 cents!)

We'll let you know how it turns out!