Salt Dough Clover

Posted on Posted in Crafts .

Now that i’ve gotten the hang of the salt dough, I have a million ideas for shapes and prints of the kids!  I thought I would make them and post for anyone who may want to make seasonal hand/foot prints of their kids.  I have of course tinkered a bit with the process and findings are posted here.

Changes Made:

  • At first I was going to go to the craft store to purchase air dry clay to test out, but reviews said that it is brittle and time consuming (to let it dry).  I wanted to post this before St. Patricks day.  Plus when I went I saw the price tag, which is a bit much even with a coupon.  At the same time, (A) enjoys mixing the salt dough so I stuck to the home-made dough.
  • I used the same recipe that I did for the Salt Dough Valentine ( click for link) that I previously posted, its still my favorite.

RECIPE

1 cup of fine grain salt
2 cups of flour
1 cup of lukewarm water
Cookie Sheets
Stepping stone imprint letters, numbers and shapes
Oven at 250 for about 4 hours.

  • This month’s shape is a 4 leaf clover.  I did this because I have two children so each got two spots, three leaf would be cool if you had one or three kids etc.  The possibilities are endless.  I used Kelly Green craft paint, and then a little white mixed in later on.
  • Last time I did feet, so I decided to switch it up and use hands (of course any design could be done with either, or both if you have one child/want each to have their own).
  • I had to Triple the recipe to make 2 clovers (I like them nice and thick, makes me feel like they are sturdier).  This also allows me to have enough left over for (A) to play with during the process, it’s the only way to make the shapes I need and not have him want to play with those :o).clover
  • I kicked the temperature up a notch to 250 degrees, it did not burn the dough, and really cut down the cooking time (4 hours instead of the previous 6 1/2, again I make them thick).
  • I still think its a bit difficult to see the impressions (even though we pressed hard) without something to draw the attention, so instead of outlining each with words (like last time), I used a contrasting lighter color of green to paint the indents. Salt Dough Clover 2

Salt Dough Clover 3

  • I used a small stiff paint brush instead of a foam brush to paint.  I also let (A) paint the base layer of green and then did the impressions on my own.

Clover Final

  • I went to Christmas Tree Shops and purchased a medium clear plate stand to display it (.89) instead of putting in a hole to hang it, I could have done both, but I thought this was a nice change.. If I change my mind, I suppose I could use the sticky command strips.

 This is a low cost, high fun activity, and (A) constantly asks to play with Salt Dough (thank goodness because I have more ideas for the upcoming holidays/months!).