Salt Dough Recipe

Do you want your little ones to have fun the nature's way. Well, then here is, indeed, a way that will show you how to get your kids to indulge in pure play. The answer is simple and that is to amuse them with salt dough recipes and guide them to make charming and rib-tickling items.

Little people, a cute cowboy hat, a Halloween pumpkin, a polka-dotted dress, beaded neck-pieces, trinkets, a satchel, a bowl and just about anything could be made by molding the dough. The salt dough is basically play dough, and can also be used for kids' craft.

If you consider the origination of this form of art, salt dough making is an art of the archaic times. This activity dates back to the Egyptian era. This art of modeling initiated itself with the onset of particular traditions followed during religious ceremonies, where carved and chiseled sculptures were presented to people on special occasions.

As time elapsed, salt dough modeling molded itself from an object worth presenting to items, that contributed in beautifying the home decor.

1. Arm yourself with ingredients required to make the salt dough - (2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, 1 cup of lukewarm water).
2. Now take a large bowl or container and mix the flour and salt together.

3. The next step is to carefully and simultaneously add half a cup of water to the mixture and plow it until it reaches the desired consistency. The plowing has to be done with precision so that no granular particles are formed. The granular particles could spoil the texture of the dough.

4. On a surface that is bump free, such as a wooden plank, knead the dough. You may add a few drops of water if required, to make the dough soft and smooth, but keep in mind not to make it moist. The moisture in the dough will result in the texture being extremely sticky. The dough needs to be moldy and not sticky in nature.

5. Make small portions of the dough and use cookie cutters to have the dough as you desire in terms of shape and size. Employing different cookie cutters for acquiring different shapes lends variety and an element of fun.

6. As the shapes are now ready, you may choose to place them on a wax paper or butter paper for them to dry. To speed up the drying process, you may turn them over sporadically. You may leave them to dry for a day or two.

7. After the shapes have dried, you may scrub off any irregularities that you find on the exterior of the dough shape with the help of sandpaper. Your salt dough is now ready!

There are certain variations in the recipe that you may choose to try after you are done with the basic recipe.

• Adding 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil make the kneading activity toil-free. Instead of adding two cups of flour, you could use buckwheat flour. The procedure becomes easier to execute.

• You may also resort to adding glycerin to the mixture. This makes the dough softer and makes modeling a much simpler task to perform.
• To make the shapes harder, you may squeeze a few drops of lime juice. You could also add wallpaper paste for the same purpose.

• Salt dough could be stored in the refrigerator for a day or two, not more than that.
• Objects that are painted should be sealed by spraying polyurethane or applying varnish for a longer shelf life and durability.
• Make colorful shape sin a jiffy. Paints could be mixed with water before mixing it with the dough.

• You may also prefer to color the dough after the shape is ready. You can color the shape by using acrylic painting as your form.
• Salt dough need to have a perfect consistency. The salt dough, if tends to gets sticky, you may sprinkle a bit of flour on the top of the dough to get the texture right.

• Instead of air drying the shapes, you could try baking them in an oven. Set your oven to 120 degree C and place the shapes on a tray and leave them in the oven to get backed.

Ensure that both the sides of the shape are baked thoroughly. For this, you need to turn them periodically. If the shapes are small, the baking time should not be less than 3 hours. For larger, more bulkier dough shapes, 4 hours of baking is a must.

• A quick tip, do not remove the tray from the oven immediately after the baking time is up. Leave them in the oven and allow them to cool in the oven itself.
• Before you start with the baking activity, you could envelope some areas of the shape with egg white to give that rustic finish and leave the rest by covering them with a piece of foil.

• See to it that all your cookie cutters are clean and have no residual sedimentation on the edges or the sides of the mold. If sedimentation exists, the mold will drag and fail to produce clear-cut shapes.

• Different ingredients will aid you to procure different textures and designs. If you use whole wheat flour, the color would be rustic and brown. Don't panic if the color of your dough has not turned out the way you desired. You have created history and made a discovery in disguise!

• Salt dough could be fun and exciting for kids. Kids could mold them into easy shapes and create designs of their own. They could make Halloween masks, flowers, little people, balloons, fruits; such as, a strawberry, oranges or simply a ball.

• With the dough recipe, craft creation is not a far-fetched thought. Once you are acquainted with basic shapes you may try your hand at making 3D idols and sculptures. Being a pro now you may also choose to add zing to your object by painting it with different colors, using glitters, cloth pieces, ribbons, beads and lots more.

• A craft idea that may be employ is to create a plaited wreath and stick little pieces of paper torn from the papers or magazines. Gluing paper pieces will create a salt dough pastiche of sorts.

You could use this wreath by placing your picture or a picture of you and your friend having a good time at the coffee shop, thereby converting it into a photo frame. For this you need to get acquainted with the idea of how to make a collage. This could serve to be an innovative gift idea as well!

• To make hangings, you need to pierce a hole in the dough shape before you place it for air drying or baking. You may need to re-pierce the holes during the air drying process.

These were some quick tips, suggestions and a procedure on devising your own salt dough recipe and making items that you desire. It's time you put on your thinking cap and let the creative juices flow and imagination run wild!