Super Sized Sand Dollar

Whenever I've gone to the beach, I've always looked for sand dollars - those delicate little discs that rarely make it to shore in one piece. Today, we won't have to go anywhere to find one and they'll be very easy to spot!

I'll be showing you how to make your own super sized sand dollar. You can use these for decorating a beach themed party, wall art or just fun!

• Paper - I used old newspaper and large drawing paper. Newspaper works great for medium sized sand dollars!

• Tape - nearly any kind of tape will work for this project. However, if you are planning on hanging these on the wall, masking or painters tape works best (safer for walls!)

• Spray paint - any color you like will do. If you're using newspaper you will probably want two different colors, so you can coat the newspaper and center star/flower differently.

• Glue - glue sticks, school glue, etc. Glue isn't necessary for this project, but it will help hold the edges together for a more seemless sand dollar

• Scissors -

I will be doing a tutorial with newspaper today. It works well for medium sized sand dollars, although it's a little thin for extra large ones.

For the first part of this step, all you'll need to do is make it roughly square. Most paper comes in rectangular shapes. The easiest way I've found to make a quick square is to bring one corner down to the opposite end to form a triangle. There will be a thin rectangle left on one half of the triangle, just cut that off with the scissors. Unfold your triangle to reveal a square!

Once you decide which paper to use and you're shaped up, it's time to decide if you want to spray paint it. If your paper is already how you like it, don't worry about this step. If you are using newspaper like I will be, you'll probably want to spray it. Spray painting is best done outside. You'll want to place some extra newspaper under your piece to catch the overspray as well. Next, read the instructions on your can of paint for dry to touch time (generally around 30 minds or less) and spray!

Once your paper is dry, you're ready to begin the folding process. Take your flat square and fold it in half and it'll make a rectangle. Fold it in half once more to make a square, and one more time after that! You should have something that looks like a long triangle.

Now, take your long triangle and trim the base - the widest part - in a slightly curved way (see above images). It doesn't have to be perfect and you should end up, once you unfold your paper, with a circle that has four somewhat pointy sides.

This next part requires a couple tricky cuts, but it'll be very easy. If you look at a sand dollar, you will see five little oval cutouts. One towards the center and four around it. We are going to be making those in this step. Fold your sand dollar back in half so that you have half of a circle. You will see lines from your previous folds, these will help you place your cutouts. There will be one in the middle and two off either side that quarter the paper. You are going to want to place your oval cuts one over each of those "quarter" lines (see above images).

You should only have to make two cuts to make your first four holes as your paper should still be folded in half. To make the next hole, leave your paper folded and determine which end of your sand dollar is the top and which is the bottom. Make your oval cut about a third up from the bottom.

Now you can unfold it once more and you should have something that looks like a sand dollar! We're not done yet though - we're going to refer back to the lines on your paper. You should have five holes, four of those should be on a set of fold lines that look like an X. If you look there should be, inbetween those lines with holes, another set of lines. On these lines, you are going to want to take your scissors and cut a third of the way up.