Sea Tow Foundation’s DIY Craft Time: Sea Salt Hand Scrub

Thinking back to those boating trips from the warm weather months might have you missing the smell of the ocean breeze and the feel of the salt spray against your skin. Don’t worry – you’re not alone!

The Sea Tow Foundation has created a monthly nautical craft to help bring those boating memories home. These crafts are easy for anyone to make and require limited tools and materials. In fact, all of the tools and materials are available at online retailers, or at a local craft store if you don’t already have the items lying around your house. Younger children may need the help of an adult for some portions of the craft project, but they can help with most of the personalization of the crafts. And many of these crafts make great homemade gifts!

With this month’s nautical craft, you can create a sea salt scrub that is perfect for giving as a gift or keeping for yourself. And this craft is perfect for little hands to make as none of the items are dangerous so this makes it the perfect craft for the holiday gift-giving season! And with Hanukkah and Christmas coming up, you'll be all set!

Materials to Make Sea Salt Hand Scrub:

• 1/4 cup coarse sea salt
• 1/8 cup liquid coconut oil
• 5 to 7 drops of essential oil of your choice
• Dry measuring cup
• Wet measuring cup
• Funnel
• Fork and spoon
• Labels
• Ribbon
• Newspaper
• Glass Container with Lid (4 oz container used in photos)

Directions for How to Make Sea Salt Hand Scrub:

1. Open the lid of the glass container and place it on a flat surface with newspaper underneath in case of spills. If you are reusing a container, ensure that it is clean and empty.
   
   
2. Measure out the sea salt into the dry measuring cup and pour it into the container using the funnel to avoid spilling. Please note that the demonstration photos use a 4 oz container so the portion sizes are based on that, but if you use a bigger container, you can increase the amount of ingredients used.

3. Add the coconut oil next using the spoon and the liquid measuring cup. Please note that if you are making a lot of these jars to give as gifts, you should do all of the dry ingredients before the wet so that the salt doesn’t stick to the funnel.

4. Add 5-7 drops of essential oil. We are using orange, but you could also use mint or another scent of your choice.

5. Stir the mixture with the fork until everything is well combined.

6. Wipe the edge of the jar to remove any of the scrub and then close and seal it. Attach the decorative label to the front of the jar and add ribbon along the top of the jar so that it is ready to give as a gift this holiday season.

Who will you give this to this holiday season?

If you found this article helpful or entertaining, please consider a donation to the Sea Tow Foundation today to help us continue our efforts to educate boaters and keep them safe on the water. You can donate securely online at www.boatingsafety.com/donatetoday or by clicking on the DONATE tab at the top of the page.

Sea Tow Foundation’s DIY Craft Time: Nautical String Art

Even though our busiest boating season has drawn to a close, boating does not have to end entirely. Now you can bring your on-the-water lifestyle inside your home with the next Sea Tow Foundation boating craft. Bring the entire family to participate in this fun craft.

The Sea Tow Foundation has created a monthly nautical craft to help bring those boating memories home. These crafts are easy for anyone to make and require limited tools and materials. In fact, all of the tools and materials are available at online retailers, or at a local craft store if you don’t already have the items lying around your house. Younger children may need the help of an adult for some portions of the craft project, but they can help with most of the personalization of the crafts. And many of these crafts make great homemade gifts!

In this month’s craft project, find a fun way to bring your boat inside your home!

Materials to Make a Nautical Picture Frame:

• A wooden board (already sanded and stained)
• Various colors of embroidery floss
• Hammer
• Nails (not as long as the board is tall)
• Paper
• Tape
• Pencil
• Marker
• Scissors

Directions for How to Make the Nautical String Art:

1. Find or purchase a wooden board and measure it to determine the size. You will want your design to be slightly smaller than the board to allow for space around the edges.

    

2. Draw a simple boat or other design on your piece of paper and make sure it is slightly smaller than the size of the wooden board. After drawing the photo, mark dots every 4-5 millimeters to note where you’ll place the nails. If you are not a good drawer, you can also search for a drawing online that you like and print that out to use.

    

3. Tape the paper to your wooden board. You don’t need to tape all of the sides, just a few pieces will work to keep it from moving when you first start to insert the nails.

    

4. Hammer in the nails on each of the black dots. Start in one area and work your way around the board to fill in all of the spots. Make sure the nails are all the same height off of the board.
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Once all of the nails are in, remove the paper and tape from the board.
   
   

    
   
   

6. Take one of the pieces of embroidery floss and tie a simple knot around one of the nails. Then create a frame by going back and forth around each of the nails. You can work in whatever pattern you would like and even change the color of the embroidery floss for different parts of the picture. At the end, tie another knot around the last nail and cut off any excess string.
   
   
   
   

Congratulations on making Nautical String Art! Share your creations with us on Facebook and Instagram by tagging @SeaTowFoundation and using the #DIYNauticalCraftTime

If you found this article helpful or entertaining, please consider a donation to the Sea Tow Foundation today to help us continue our efforts to educate boaters and keep them safe on the water. You can donate securely online at www.boatingsafety.com/donatetoday or by clicking on the DONATE tab at the top of the page.

What to Do With Your Kid’s Outgrown Life Jackets

When a young boater outgrows their life jacket, what can you do with it? Or when you decide to get yourself a new inflatable life jacket, what should be done with your foam one? The Sea Tow Foundation has been utilizing new and gently used life jackets to save lives as a part of our Life Jacket Drive. The drive employs these donations in Life Jacket Loaner Stations that can be found across the country.

Before adding a donated life jacket to the Life Jacket Loaner Station, each one is inspected thoroughly and you can also use the same checklist before you donate your life jacket.

• Check to make sure the life jacket is U.S. Coast Guard-approved on the label.
• Ensure that all zippers, buckles, straps and other fasteners are working properly.
• Make sure that there are no rips, tears or mold on the life jacket.
• Confirm that the life jacket’s flotation foam is not damaged – so it can float properly in water.
  • Here’s a tip: By holding a life jacket underwater, you can make sure it will float back to the surface.

Once you check that your gently used life jacket meets the conditions listed above, it can be repurposed by the Sea Tow Foundation to help make sure that boaters everywhere can have a safe and enjoyable time out on the water.

If your life jacket does not meet even one of the conditions above, discard the life jacket and ensure that it is not going to be used by cutting it apart into pieces before putting in the trash.

It is important that all boat passengers have a life jacket that fits them perfectly. By donating your gently used life jackets, you can help bring the joy of boating to other people right in your local community.

If you have a life jacket that no longer fits your boat’s passengers, please fill out this form and donate them to the Sea Tow Foundation.

If you found this article helpful or entertaining, please consider a donation to the Sea Tow Foundation today to help us continue our efforts to educate boaters and keep them safe on the water. You can donate securely online at www.boatingsafety.com/donatetoday or by clicking on the DONATE tab at the top of the page.

Sea Tow Foundation’s DIY Craft Time: Nautical Picture Frame

Everyone knows that the best boating memories are the ones made out on the water. However, being out on the water isn’t always possible because of the weather, work and school schedules, or millions of other things going on in our lives.

With that in mind, the Sea Tow Foundation has created a monthly nautical craft to help bring those boating memories home. These crafts are easy for anyone to make and require limited tools and materials. In fact, all of the tools and materials are available at online retailers, or at a local craft store if you don’t already have the items lying around your house. Younger children may need the help of an adult for some portions of the craft project, but they can help with most of the personalization of the crafts. And many of these crafts make great homemade gifts!

In this month’s craft project, capture your treasured memories spent on the boat with these easy to make nautical picture frames.

Materials to Make a Nautical Picture Frame:

• Foam Board
• Box cutter or sharp craft knife
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Hot Glue
• Alphabet stickers
• Washi Tape
• Sisal rope
• Scissors
• Photo for the frame
• Newspaper or something to cover your table
• Decorative items of your choice (seashells, stickers, twigs, colored string, etc.)

Directions for How to Make a Nautical Picture Frame:

1. Determine what size frame you want based on the size of your photograph. You want the frame to be wide enough to allow for decorations.
   Some suggested dimensions are listed below as a guide using standard size photos and frames:
   4 x 6 photo – 8 x 10 frame
   5 x 7 photo – 11 x 14 frame
   8 x 10 photo – 16 x 20 frame
   
   
2. Measure the foam board using the ruler and pencil and cut it out using the knife. Children can help with the measuring, but an adult should handle the cutting as some pressure must be applied to the knife to get through the thick foam. After the outside rectangle is cut, measure the inside area for the photo ¼” shorter than the sides of the photo that you are using and cut that out as well.  The cut edges will be rough, but these will be covered up in the next step.
   
   

    

3. To cover the rough edges on the inside, use some decorative washi tape along the edge. You can find washi tape that coordinates with the colors in your photo. This is a great step for the kids to help!

    

4. Along the outside edge of the frame, attach the sisal rope with the hot glue. Warning: the glue gets very hot and can burn fingers easily, so adults should help with this step. Also, this is a good time to have the newspaper down to protect the table.
   
   
   
   
5. While the glue is still hot, use this time to add decorations to the frame including seashells or anything else that would need to be glued down. The children can help decorate using alphabet stickers, twigs, or they can even color the frame with markers.
   
   

    

6. Once all of the decorations have dried, turn the frame over. Place the photo in the opening and ensure it is lined up properly. Then, secure the photo to the back of the foam board using washi tape.
   
   

Congratulations on making a Nautical Picture Frame! Share your creations with us on Facebook and Instagram by tagging @SeaTowFoundation and using the #DIYNauticalCraftTime

If you found this article helpful or entertaining, please consider a donation to the Sea Tow Foundation today to help us continue our efforts to educate boaters and keep them safe on the water. You can donate securely online at www.boatingsafety.com/donatetoday or by clicking on the DONATE tab at the top of the page.

Boating Safety Courses are Important

Today is a great day to take a Boating Safety Course and get your boating license or boating certificate. The Sea Tow Foundation has included the following 5 reasons why any day is the right day to sign up for a boating safety course and become a safer boater:

1. It’s the Law: Most states require a boat operator to take and complete a boating safety course before operating any boat with a motor. This includes personal watercraft, small fishing boats, pontoons, sailboats that utilize their engine, and various sizes of powerboats. And, you should also check the requirements for any other states where you might boat as their requirements might be different.

    

2. Boating Safety Courses Save Lives: According to the U.S. Coast Guard’s Office of Boating Safety,70% of the deaths that occurred on boats across the country last year were operated by a person who had not taken any boating safety course.

    

3. You Can Save Money: Taking a boating safety course will often result in a discount on your boat’s insurance policy which can save you money.

    

4. Learn Something New: Even the most experienced boaters can learn something new or be reminded about something they may have forgotten. Laws and regulations are constantly changing, so a boating safety class will ensure that you are up to date on all your state’s requirements.

    

5. Help the Sea Tow Foundation at the Same Time: Completing an interactive, online class from our friends at iLearntoBoat.com results in the Sea Tow Foundation getting a donation from every course graduate to help us promote boating safety in more locations in the U.S.

If you have any other questions about how to get your boating license or boating certificate, check out our article here for many frequently asked questions about taking a boating safety course.

If you found this article helpful or entertaining, please consider a donation to the Sea Tow Foundation today to help us continue our efforts to educate boaters and keep them safe on the water. You can donate securely online at www.boatingsafety.com/donatetoday or by clicking on the DONATE tab at the top of the page.