BEACH BAG

Y

Ou Will Need

A clean, ironed fabric shopping bag (with at least one blank side – you could turn it inside out)

A4 paper

Dark-coloured marker pen

A piece of thick cardboard about the size of your bag

Masking tape

6 -8 pegs or bulldog clips

2 tablespoons of flour

2 tablespoons of water

Small bowl

Teaspoon

2

Draw a simple picture on the paper using a marker pen, then tape it to a piece of cardboard.

Add the flour and water to a small bowl and mix together to make a smooth, thick paste. Put this mixture into the squeezy bottle or syringe.

4

A medicine syringe or a clean squirty bottle (like a washing-up liquid bottle)

Paintbrushes and/or sponges

A blunt knife (like a butter knife)

Paint (see box)

What paint to use:

If you want to be able to wash your bag or use it in wet conditions, use fabric paint. Otherwise, use any craft paint (but your design may run if it gets wet).

Put the cardboard inside the bag. Smooth the fabric over the cardboard and use pegs to hold it tightly in place.

Squeeze the paste onto the bag, following the lines of your drawing. You can add some extra details if you like. Leave it to dry overnight.

Paint around the paste lines. We used a brush to paint solid colours inside the starfish shape, and a sponge to add two shades of blue outside it to look like the sea. Make sure you paint right up to the paste lines. Leave it to dry overnight.

I’d love to see your beach bag! Take a photo and ask an adult to tag us on social media @whizzpopbangmag and email it to Y@whizzpopbang.com

Now pick off the paste! Scrunch up your bag to break it up, then run a blunt knife over it if it’s hard to remove. If you used fabric paint, check the instructions on the packaging to find out how to set it.

More ideas... ECO

Your beach bag isn’t just useful for carrying books and snacks on days out – you could also use it to bring your own rubbish home!

Make a DIY beach clean-up kit by packing:

Gloves (e.g. gardening gloves)

– for picking up rubbish safely

Old plastic bags – for collecting rubbish to take home

These two items will fit easily inside your beach bag and could help you to make a real difference on your next trip to the beach (or somewhere closer to home!).

We can all help to save the planet. Lots of small actions can make a BIG difference!

Awesome charity

The 2 Minute Foundation is challenging us all to spend just two minutes picking up litter from our local area. If everyone did it, it would make a huge difference! Find out more here: 2minute.org

The ovals below Scissors

Hole punch

Card or cardboard

String or ribbon

1. Cut out the 12 ovals on these pages.

2. Use the hole punch to make a hole through each oval where shown and then stack them with the cover at the top and the back cover on the bottom.

3. Thread the string or ribbon through the holes and tie together with a knot or double bow, making sure you can turn the pages easily.

Auger Shell Slipper Shell

Crepidula fornicata

This oval shell with an arched back belongs to a type of sea snail. It can be up to 5 cm long and has a large opening underneath. Groups of slipper limpets are often found stuck together in stacks.

Turritella communis

This long, pointy cone can be up to 3 cm long with as many as

This Book Belongs To

Cockle Shell

Cerastoderma edule

This lives on sandy and muddy shores, often in estuaries. Its domed shell has radiating ridges and also growth bands across it because it grows more in summer than winter. These can be used to age the cockle, just like tree rings. In some places, there can be 10,000 cockles per

Limpet Shell

Patella vulgata

These cone-shaped sea snails can be seen firmly clamped to rocks all around the UK. When the tide comes in, they move around to eat algae but always return to the same spot when the tide goes out. The radula (like a

Razor Shell

Ensis ensis

These common shells get their name from their resemblance to an old-fashioned razor. They can be up to 20 cm long. The mollusc inside burrows into firm sand and then, when the tide is in, filter feeds organic matter. They are thought to live for up to 20 years.

Seashell Pocket Guide

It’s fun to find empty shells on the beach and wonder about the animals that once lived in them. Next time you go to the seaside, take this handy guide with you to help you identify what you see. You could add some pages of your own when you find something new – draw it or take a photo and see if you can find out more about it.

Seashell pocket guide

Find a printable version of the pullout here: bit.ly/3I5kdk1

Find a way from the start to the tip of the shell. Check your answer on page 34.

START

Whelk Shell

Buccinum undatum

Jingle Shell Mussel Shell

Anomia ephippium

Jingle shells are usually thin and pearly and an irregular shape. You will often find them with a hole through them. This is because they attach to a rock surface using a byssus (a bundle of tough threads), which comes out through a hole in one side of the shell. They are often used in wind chimes because they make a jingling sound when shaken together, hence their nickname!

Mytilus edulis

Mussels live in intertidal areas

Banded Wedge Shell

Donax vittatus

This wedge-shaped shell can grow up to 4 cm long. It has bands of colour that can be white, yellow, orange, purple or brown. The edge of the shell has tiny ‘teeth’ that seal the shell closed from predators.

Flat Top Shell

Gibbula umbilicalis

Why not choose your favourite shell from your trip to the beach and make it into a necklace? You could press the shell into a blob of coloured salt dough, make a hole in the dough and leave it to dry. Then thread it onto some twine or ribbon to make it into a necklace.