Salt dough is one of those essential activities in children’s lives. At school or at home, who has never created their own objects? For Christmas, Mother’s Day or Easter, these little creations make their creator proud, happy to be able to offer or exhibit their masterpieces.
Economical and easy to do, the salt dough sessions are an opportunity to entertain young and old and occupy a few hours during free time.
Stimulating creativity at a lower cost, salt dough can be manipulated at will to make endless shapes and combinations.
Popular and simple, however, it sometimes happens that distant memories are no longer of great help in the making and creation of your finest masterpieces. But do not panic ! Here are our best salt dough activity ideas.
But before starting your creations, here is a little reminder of the unmistakable salt dough recipe. With just 3 ingredients and 4 super fast steps, you can’t go wrong.
1- First, pour into a salad bowl 2 large glasses of flour and 1 glass of fine salt.
2- Stir gently with a wooden spoon or your hands.
3- gradually add 1 large glass of lukewarm water, then continue kneading to obtain a firm and supple dough that does not stick to your fingers.
4- If the dough is too soft and sticky: Add more flour and knead.
5- If the dough is too dry and crumbly: Add water and mix everything. And here is your dough is ready to be shaped to infinity!
Read also: How to make salt dough?
Christmas in salt dough
Children and Christmas is quite a story. They make a list of all the presents they have in mind a hundred times, ask when Santa Claus will come by and how he will manage to pass through the fireplace or the window. It would be a shame not to take advantage of this great enthusiasm. So do not hesitate to ask them and offer them pretty creative activities around Christmas to do together, as a family. There are a multitude of DIY Christmases easily achievable by the youngest. This is particularly the case for Christmas creations in salt dough.
This year, rather than buying some decorations for our Christmas tree again, why not make them yourself? In the shape and size you want, these creations will enhance your decoration more personalized than ever. To make them, take a cookie cutter in the shape of your choice, a rolling pin, string and any decoration you want (paint, glitter, accessories, etc.). And here are some ideas to reproduce at home:
- Ornaments to hang everywhere
- A Christmas wreath idea
- Santa’s reindeer in the palm of a hand
- A Christmas tree sculpture
- A snowman massage
- Appetizing barley sugars (not to eat)
Let’s celebrate Easter
At Easter all the beautiful colors of spring emerge, the sun illuminates the sky, the scent of flowers and the sound of insects and other animals emerge from their nests. A sweet season sets in, and gives us vitamins and cheerfulness. So let’s take the opportunity to let our creativity run wild by making pretty colorful decorations.
- A garland of Easter eggs
- Let’s create a nest for our bird family
Halloween deco
When fall knocks on the door, it brings with it the long afternoons and evenings home. Now is a good time to look for ideas to make the most of your children’s free time. Why not take the opportunity to prepare with them the queen festival of autumn: Halloween. Here are some Halloween salt dough decorating ideas:
- Halloween ornament ideas
For mom or dad
Every year, moms and dads are honored around the world. This is an opportunity for children to give, or make a gift to their parents. But the children are not the only ones concerned, the adults take advantage of this day to also celebrate their mother. Mixing novelty, originality and personality is not always easy as the years go by.
- Pretty pearls to create jewelry
- A pretty heart with hands
- Adorable fridge magnets
Animals
It is well known that having an animal in your home is good for morale and health. And this is especially true of our dear children. But it’s not always easy to welcome a little fur ball. So why not opt for a salt dough animal? Here are some ideas:
- a green (or gray) mouse
To play at the dinette
When toddlers play at the dinette, they obviously need fruit, vegetables, bread, etc. In the kitchen or the garden, we can always give them a few pieces of real food. But in their room, it gets a little more complicated. It is obviously possible to buy some in wood or in plastic but their prices are not given. So to solve this problem, here are some models in salt dough. Easy to make, in the size you want, create your favorite foods yourself. Toddlers can take part in the preparation, and learn while having fun the names and shapes of the creations.
- An idea for a bite-size tart
- A cupcake-shaped massage
- Cookies larger than life
Home decor
There is nothing more important than feeling good at home. So why not personalize your decoration? Today we offer you salt dough decoration ideas to enhance your interior.
- A DIY hand vacuum
- Letters of the alphabet
- A nice tealight modeling
Finalize your works of art
It is essential to let your salt dough creations dry for at least 12 hours before cooking them. However, do not exceed 2 days of drying when your salt dough will become crumbly during cooking. We strongly advise you to follow this step which will allow you to considerably reduce the cooking time of your elements, deformations or air bubbles.
The cooking time of the salt dough depends on different elements:
- The longer the drying time, the shorter the cooking time.
- The bigger and thicker the object to be cooked, the longer the cooking time.
- The softer the dough, the longer the cooking time.
- Gentle cooking temperature: between 75 ° C and 110 ° C
- Average cooking time for small items: around 2 hours
- Watch the cooking to avoid unpleasant surprises
Pauline Gaudry
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