Sand play shovel with sculpture mold

A shovel is disclosed which is preferably a play shovel for use by a child or adult for making a molded head and neck of any desired character or object such as a storybook or cartoon character in the sand. The shovel includes a bottom spade portion and a middle handle portion and a top head portion. The head and handle portions have walls forming a mold cavity opening at the back. The head portion has inner and outer surfaces having features of the head of a character formed thereon.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The invention generally relates to shovels and methods of use therefore 
and, in particular, the invention relates to a play shovel and method 
having a handle and head forming a mold in the shape of a storybook or 
cartoon character. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The prior art play shovel includes a spade portion and a handle portion. 
One problem with the prior art play shovel is that it has a singular 
purpose, namely, to permit a child to dig in the sand. Often a child will 
use the prior art type of play shovel to lift sand into a bucket to carry 
sand for use in creating some form of structure. 
Sand structures are a great form of amusement and entertainment for young 
children and even adults enjoying sandy beaches. Wet sand is often used to 
create structures on a beach because of the relative ease in using wet 
sand instead of dry sand to shape sand structures. In forming wet sand 
structures, children and adults have generally used their hands to shape 
the sand such as by stroking and smoothing the sand to create desired 
roundness and configuration. The disadvantage of using hands to shape wet 
sand structures is that the fingers and hands need to be constantly 
cleaned with water to remove sand particles especially when a child or 
person is using their hands to eat food such as a sandwich, etc. Also, 
unless the person or child using wet sand to build sand structures is very 
artistic, it is exceedingly difficult to form wet sand structures that 
have nice shapes or configurations that are pleasing to the sand structure 
creator and others viewing the sand structure. 
Therefore, a need existed for a play shovel and method that would serve 
both as a means of carrying sand and also to provide a means for shaping 
wet sand to create artistic sand structures. 
SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved 
shovel and method. 
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved play shovel 
and method. 
It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved play shovel 
and method which can be used to both carry sand and to form artistic sand 
structures. 
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a play shovel for 
use by a child to easily form in the sand a molded head of a storybook or 
cartoon character. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a method of forming in the 
sand a molded head of a storybook or cartoon character. 
A still further object of this invention is to provide a spade and mold of 
one-piece construction for ease of carrying by a child. 
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages will be apparent 
from the following description of the preferred embodiment of the 
invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
According to the present invention, a play shovel for use by a child is 
provided. This shovel comprises a bottom spade portion and a middle handle 
portion and a top head portion which has a front wall and peripheral wall 
enclosing a mold cavity that is in the shape of, for example, a storybook 
character, however, other shapes and configurations can be formed by the 
mold cavity created by the middle handle and top head portions, as 
desired. By using the spade portion, a child can pile up a mound of dry or 
wet sand; and by using the mold cavity created by the hollow handle and 
top head portions, the child can simply push the hollow back of the shovel 
into wet sand to form a beautiful and artistic shape or configuration 
therein or, if desired can pack the mold cavity by hand with the wet sand 
and, if desired, carry the molded sand configuration to any desired site 
or location to place the molded wet sand structure thereon. By using the 
peripheral wall portion of the handle and top head portions, the child can 
turn over the shovel and mold cavity; and can subsequently deposit the 
molded sand configuration on any desired support surface. 
A method of forming a sand structure such as the head of a storybook 
character for use by a child is also provided. This method includes the 
steps of, forming a play shovel having an elongate handle having a first 
mold cavity portion and first and second end portions; affixing a head 
portion having a second mold cavity portion at the first end portion 
affixing a spade portion having an edge portion at the second end portion; 
packing the first and second mold cavity portion with wet sand; turning 
over the first and second mold cavity portions filled with wet sand; and 
depositing the molded wet sand on a support surface.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
As shown in FIG. 1, a play shovel 10 is provided. Shovel 10 includes a 
bottom spade or blade portion 12, and a middle handle portion or handle 
14, and a top portion, or facial character mold, or head 16. 
Spade portion 12 has an edge portion or lower portion or edge 18, and a 
center portion 20 which preferably has a plurality of stiffeners 22, and 
an upper portion 24. If desired, the spade portion 12 can be a simple 
somewhat curved blade structure suitable for scooping up sand. 
Handle 14, which has an arcuate shape in cross-section (see FIGS. 1 and 2), 
has preferably a first bottom tapered part 26, which is preferably fixedly 
connected to spade 12. Handle 14 also has preferably a second top tapered 
part 28, which is preferably fixedly connected to head 16. Handle 14 also 
has center part 30, which preferably has indicia, or a character name 32, 
which is "CINDERELLA" in this embodiment. If desired, any name can be used 
to form the desired name of the character or to form any unrelated name in 
the wet sand that is in contact with the inside of the handle 14. Handle 
14 has an elongate recess or cavity 33 at its rear side (see FIG. 2). 
Shovel 10 is preferably made of any suitable plastic material which has 
rounded edges for safety and for avoidance of scratches or cuts on the 
child as user. 
Head 16, which is hollow, has a front wall 34 and an annular or peripheral 
wall 36, which together form a hollow mold cavity 38 (see FIG. 2) that is 
open at the rear. Walls 34, 36 preferably have a substantially constant or 
uniform thickness. Head 16, which serves as a mold of a head, receives a 
mold material, such as wet sand. Cavity 38 receives the wet sand mold 
material, and forms the shape and features of a head, such as the head of 
a storybook or cartoon character, or the like. Cavity or recess 33 of the 
handle 14 can serve to form the "neck" portion of the head character using 
the wet sand placed or located thereon. 
Head 16 also has an outer surface 40 and an inner surface 42 (see FIG. 2). 
Surfaces 40, 42, in the embodiment of FIG. 1, have the features of the 
storybook character "CINDERELLA", including the features of the nose, 
eyes, mouth and hair. 
METHODS OF USE 
In one form of use, head 16 is placed face down on a sand surface, with 
rear cavity 38 facing upwardly. This means that handle 14 is also placed 
face down with its rear cavity 33 facing upwardly. Previously, a mound of 
wet sand was made or formed such as by using handle 14 and spade 12. Parts 
of the wet sand mound are packed by hand into the cavity 38 and into the 
cavity 33. Head 16 is then turned over by holding and using the exterior 
peripheral wall portion of handle 14. The wet sand molded materials within 
cavities 38 and 33 are deposited on a sand surface, or like support 
surface. Thus, a child can easily and simply fill the mold cavity of the 
head and handle of the play shovel which is open at the rear side. The 
child can then turn over shovel 10 so that the imprints from the head 16 
and the handle 14 will be exposed to the sand surface. 
The advantages of shovel 10 are that a child or adult can form or mold any 
desired character such as a storybook or cartoon character on a sand or 
like surface using wet sand or the like, that a child or adult can use 
parts of the shovel, which has a spade for digging a mound of dry or wet 
sand and which has a head with a mold cavity, for molding the head of a 
storybook character from wet sand, and that a child or adult can easily 
carry and use the combined shovel and mold which is a one-piece 
construction. 
While the invention has been described in its preferred embodiment, it is 
to be understood that the words which have been used are words of 
description rather than limitation and that changes may be made within the 
purview of appended claims without departing from the true scope and 
spirit of the invention in its broader aspects.