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If you’re looking for a fun and inexpensive project to do with your children or grandchildren, Salt Dough is the ticket. It requires three common household ingredients and there are so many things you can make with it. My boys and I had a lot of fun using cookie cutters, rolling pins, and paint. We made fun little ornaments for our Christmas tree and even created the common hand print plaques that capture how little and precious they are.

For this fun project, here’s what you’ll need:

  • 1 cup of flour
  • 1 cup of salt
  • Up to 1 cup of water
  • Tools: rolling pin, baking sheet, cookie cutters, pizza wheel
  • Decorating supplies: paint brush, paint, markers

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Directions:

  1. Pre-heat your oven to the lowest setting, 100 degrees F is recommend, but my lowest setting was 200 degrees, and that worked just fine.
  2. Mix the cup of flour and the cup of salt in a mixing bowl. (The kids love helping with this.)
  3. Gradually add the water, until you have a dough-like consistency. It should not stick to your hands. (If it is sticky, add a little more flour.)
  4. Next, lay some flour down on your workspace and knead the dough to make it workable and soft.
  5. Once it is soft, roll it out to be 1/4-inch thick and begin to use your cookie cutters, or have a child place his/her hand into the dough for a handprint. Use a pizza wheel to cut out your desired shape for the handprint. I made a circle.
  6. Place the items you’ve created on a baking sheet and place it in the oven for up to 3 hours. If your creation is thicker than 1/4 inch it may need to be turned over halfway through. It’s best to check on it every 30 minutes. The idea is for the dough to slowly dry up and become rock hard.
  7. Once it is completely dry, you can begin decorating it with paint.

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