This recipe for DIY Unicorn Kinetic Sand may contain affiliate links.
I love kinetic sand. There’s just something so peaceful about squishing it, shaping it, and playing with it. But what I didn’t realize was that I was spending way too much on the kinetic sand at the store… making it at home in my favorite unicorn colors is easy and affordable! Kinetic sand is such a great therapeutic tool, too. My son has autism, and allowing him to play with kinetic sand while listening to me read has been a huge help to him when it comes to focusing. It’s also a great sensory tool! Here’s how to make your very own kinetic sand at home!
DIY Unicorn Kinetic Sand Supplies
To make this unicorn kinetic sand, you’ll need a few things which you can pick up at your local store or find on Amazon.
- Very fine, white sand (or substitute colorful sand if you don’t plan to tint it yourself). This 5-pound bag on Amazon will give you enough sand for 5 colors of sand.
- Corn Starch (this helps the sand get the right consistency)
- Dish Soap (this improves the texture, acts as an anti-bacterial agent and helps the sand smell great)
- Water
- Food coloring in bright, fun colors (any food coloring will work for this, but we have found the best colors from food coloring lines that offer neon colors!)
- Fine glitter (buying multiple colors will allow you to match the color to the specific color of kinetic sand you’re making, but if you want to cut costs, gold and/or silver are good basics that pair with any color of sand!)
- Essential oils, optional, for fragrance and anti-microbial properties, depending on the oil you use.
How to Make Unicorn Kinetic Sand
Making the unicorn kinetic sand is oh-so-easy. You’ll need a large bowl for your dry mixture and a smaller bowl or jar for your wet mixture.
For the dry mixture, you’ll want to mix 1 cup of sand, 1 Tablespoon of corn starch, and 1 Tablespoon of glitter. Try to match the glitter closely to whatever color of kinetic sand you’re hoping to achieve (we’ve shown purple).
For the wet mixture, you’ll need to mix roughly 1 Tablespoon of water, 1 teaspoon of dish soap, and some food coloring (we found around 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon was enough for a good color payoff). Mix this gently– you don’t want too many bubbles to form during the mixing process!
Pour the wet mixture into to the dry mixture, then knead until you have a beachy wet sand consistency. You want it to feel about the consistency of sand you’d build a sand castle with. If it isn’t quite there, add water 1 teaspoon at a time.
Once it’s mixed thoroughly, repeat the process with as many colors as you’d like to make! Keep them separate, or store them together for a rainbow look.
Storing in an airtight tub is a good way to keep it fresh longer, but if it starts to smell musty, it’s time to toss it. Essential oils with anti-microbial and anti-bacterial properties can keep it fresher, longer, so consider using your favorite anti-bacterial essential oil to keep the unicorn kinetic sand fresh and playable.
The more you mix the colors, the more the mixture will turn gray or brown, depending on how many colors of sand you’ve incorporated. However, the rainbow color lasts long enough to keep things fun and exciting. If you want to keep the colors brighter longer, simply store each color separately and play with it separately. However, the unicorn play sand is just as fun to play with even when it’s been mixed together– it won’t change the texture at all for the colors to mix!
DIY Unicorn Kinetic Sand Recipe
- 1 C fine white sand
- 1 Tbsp corn starch
- 1 Tbsp fine glitter
- 1 Tbsp water
- 1 tsp dish soap
- 1/4 tsp food coloring
- In a bowl, mix sand, corn starch, and glitter.
- In a separate bowl, combine water, dish soap, and food coloring gently (so as not to activate bubbles in the dish soap).
- Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and stir or knead to combine. If mixture is too dry, add water 1 tsp at a time until it feels like beach sand and is shapeable/moldable.
- Store in an airtight container.
- Add your favorite essential oil to wet mixture before combining wet and dry mixture if you want to add scent. Or, use an anti-microbial or anti-bacterial essential oil for longer lasting kinetic sand.
- Repeat process to make as many colors as you'd like.
This unicorn kinetic sand can be shaped, pressed together, and even used to make sand castles! It feels wet and dry at the same time and is moldable just like the sand you’d find at the beach. I cannot get enough of it, and neither can my son. There’s just something so peaceful and soothing about sculpting kinetic sand. Plus, you can slice it like bread! It’s just an amazing texture to play with.
Have you played with kinetic sand? What’s your favorite sensory toy?
Let me know in the comments below, and don’t forget to share this post with a friend who you think would love it! Want to save it for later? Be sure to pin it!
More Sensory DIY Ideas
Sensory Calming Board
Dino Dig Sensory Bin
Snowy Scene Sensory Bin
Sensory Play Board on Pinterest
Homemade Faux Snow from Juggling Act Mama
More Colorful DIYs
Homemade Color Bubbles (Crayola Copycat)
Chalk-Rubbed Sand Art
Create a Color Theme Unit for your Child
