Salt Dough Decorations

I bought this book a few years ago and use it a lot.  Out of the blue Sophie asked about being able to make some decorations that could be painted and would last.  For some reason salt dough came up in the conversation so off I went to find The Book!

Hey Presto!  My book came up good again.

So, in case you have not made this before.....

300g plain flour

300g table salt

200ml of water

teas spoon of oil.

Put it all in a bowl and mix and gather to form a dough.  This bit was surprisingly easy.

If wrapped in cling film it will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks.

We then used lots of biscuit cutters to used a BBQ stick to make decent sized holes in them so that they could be hung up.

At one point I needed to sit down due to a hip, tendon, inflammation thing that is going on and I am trying to ignore it..... and noticed just how much my little girl has grown.  It is often judged by things like if she can reach the door handles, taps etc.  There was a time not long ago when she struggled to make anything at the kitchen counter.  NOW LOOK!!!!  Watching her working safely and independently tugged a bit that Mummy is not needed as much with this sort of thing, but at the same time it was good to see her having fun and understanding exactly what she wanted to do and taking the lead.

So as not to stick I used some baking parchment.

They went in the oven at 180 degrees for 20-25 mins.  We found they they swelled up a bit and took ages to harden.

At the same time we followed Kirstie Allsops idea of putting them in the microwave for 2-3 mins and I have to say that we both agreed they came out better, hardened off faster and did not swell up.  So I recommend using the microwave.  You still need to wait for them to fully cool down.

Sophie also decided that a few models were needed.  Isn't this cute!

They can then be painted using any paints.  Sophie used watercolours.  Keep the brush quite dry with plenty of paint.  Posters paints or Acrylics are just as good.

I used watercolours and then added some gold acrylic paint using the blunt end of the paintbrush.

Added some ribbon......

.....then hang on the tree!

We have uite a few more to finish but certainly a very quick and inexpensive activity.

xx