How do you DIY make salt dough crafts at home? Our guide outlines a simple recipe for salt dough, craft ideas, plus how to make it durable and decorative.
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Salt dough is ideal for young and old to conjure up great decorations at low cost. You only need 4 ingredients and some creativity.
Kneading with salt dough is one of the most enjoyable leisure activities you can do at home with children. You can make salt dough crafts for any occasion, for example to make beautiful festive decorations for Easter or Christmas.
You can also make salt dough crafts to create small pieces of jewelry as well as wall and table decorations for the children’s room, but also for all other rooms in the house. This makes kneading with salt dough not only interesting for children.
Quick recipe for salt dough
You can produce salt dough very easily and inexpensively. Everything you need is in the standard equipment of every kitchen. In addition, the preparation is already a lot of fun for children, as they can splash around to their hearts’ content.
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Ingredients for salt dough:
• 2 cups of flour
• 1 cup of salt
• 1 cup of water
• 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
preparation
Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Next, add the water and knead the whole thing into a smooth dough. Finally, add the vegetable oil and process the dough into a smooth mass. If the dough is still a little too sticky afterwards, you can add a little more flour and salt.
Air drying vs baking?
Salt dough does not necessarily have to dry in the oven. It can also harden in the air, which may reduce the durability. Especially when you want to paint the dough afterwards, it is advisable to bake the dough out. However, the dough doesn’t take too much heat. Because this quickly causes unsightly cracks in the salt dough biscuits, throws bubbles, burns or even breaks apart. A gentle baking temperature that you carefully increase in several steps has therefore proven itself:
»1st step: bake the salt dough for approx. 30 minutes at 60 ° C
» 2nd step: then continue to bake for another 30 minutes at 100 ° C
»3rd step: finally bake at 120 ° C for two hours
Make salt dough durable
If you don’t completely use up your salt dough the first time you knead it, you don’t have to throw it away. With the right storage technology, you can make it last for up to several weeks. All you need is an airtight sealable can in which you put the dough in portions.
In order to make the finished salt dough works of art more durable, it is again possible to mix in a teaspoon of paste powder in advance. A layer of clear lacquer after baking cannot hurt either.
Knead and shape with salt dough
The basic recipe for salt dough can sometimes be modified very creatively. For example, you can color it or add aromatic scents. This gives you a colorful or fragrant natural clay, with which a lot is possible in terms of design. As an alternative to coloring, it is also possible to paint the dough. However, this only happens after the creations from the salt dough have been baked.
Color or paint the salt dough
There is a multitude of colors in the craft shop with which the salt dough can be painted after baking. Waterproof poster and acrylic paints as well as conventional water colors are suitable. However, you should only liquefy the latter with a little water, so as not to dissolve the salt in the dough. Watercolors also tend to color a little less strongly than, for example, strong acrylic paints. A good priming of the salt dough is therefore advisable in advance.
Now salt dough is a real natural product, which is why it makes sense to use natural colors when coloring the dough. They can be added to the modeling clay while the dough is being made and sometimes conjure up wonderful shades of color in the savory biscuits. In addition to food colors, such as those used for coloring cakes or Easter eggs, there are also a few coloring foods that are wonderful in salt dough:
| blue salt dough: | Brew from red cabbage (with natrum) or mallow flowers; Another special tip is blue-green algae powder from the cyanobacterium Spirulina |
| red salt dough: | Juice or brew from beetroot, red cabbage (with vinegar), red or black berries; paprika powder is also suitable |
| yellow salt dough: | Brew from carrots, pumpkin, birch leaves or onion skin; alternatively use saffron, curry or curcuma powder |
| green salt dough: | Brew from spinach, nettles, broccoli, beans or peas; green curry powder and barley grass powder are also suitable |
| brown salt dough: | black tea, cocoa or coffee powder |
Fragrance stones from salt dough
You can also experiment a lot with salt dough when it comes to scents. For example, it is a particularly nice idea to add a dash of essential oils to the dough so that you can easily create your own fragrance stones. The principle also works with dried herbs , which can also be added to the salt dough and give it an artistic pattern. A good tip is to combine the fragrances with natural colors in the dough, whereby these should be completely kneaded before the fragrance components.
Even more great ideas for salt dough crafts
There are no limits to creativity when working with salt dough. This makes tinkering with salt dough dough incredibly versatile and can sometimes produce quite sophisticated creations. A few particularly interesting ideas are:
• Storage trays
• Paperweights
• Christmas tree decorations
• Figures and sculptures
• Candle holders and tealight holders
• Herbal scenters
• Door signs
• Seasonal table decorations
• Salt dough work with dried moss
• Salt dough biscuits (for decoration)
• Wall and window pictures
Tip: If successful, the works of art can also serve as gifts. Especially when an original gift is quickly needed, salt dough work is a wonderful way to give friends and family a very personal joy.
