Salt Dough

I have always enjoyed crafting.  During the past few years, a change has taken place with how I craft.  It is not about going to the craft store and buying a pattern and sitting down and making something that someone else designed. I have become the designer, the creator of my crafts.  As I create, I create with products that could possibly end up in our landfills.  It gives me a sense that I am protecting what God created and not a part of the destruction that is taking place with our planet.  I am showing respect to my Creator.

To take something and transform it into something new brings me a great deal of pleasure.  I feel like I am on the playground that God plays on.  Granted I didn't create the product, but the transformation of that product rather then it ending up in heaps of trash is much more attractive, don't you think?

I bought a huge bag of flour several years back and I used some of it.  Today, that bag sits on the kitchen floor. It is old, but I can't just throw it away.  The guilt, knowing that I have wasted something that was to be consumed, is to much to bear.   So it sits there year after year.  I know it has purpose, other than thrown away.

Today, I will be making salt dough ornaments with this old flour.  It will give me the opportunity to use my new cookie cutters and rubber stamps.  Of course, I will incorporate a blue ornament.

This is a great craft for kids and adults.  So the next time you haven't used your flour, consider using it as dough for ornament or even paper mache.

I will be back later this evening with a tutorial.

I am back.  I may not finish this tonight because of the time it takes to bake these, but I will finish up tomorrow with it.

I am sure there are lots of mixtures out there for salt dough.  I keep it really simple.  One part of each  of the ingredients and you are set to go.

1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of salt
1/2 cup of water

Mix all of these together really well.  You know the routine, if it is too sticky add more flour.  If it crumbles add more water.  Knead it until it is well mixed like bread dough.

I am not up with technology on all the great new products out there.  I still like to stir with a spoon, mix with my hands, and use what is ever available to get the result.  I just feel more connected the more elbow grease I put into it.

The next step is to roll it out on a floured surface. I use a floured glass as my rolling pin.

Pull out those cookie cutters next.  I am still in Christmas mode, so I am making ornaments for next year. Then I will head on to make some hearts for valentines.  Stamp your cookie cutter into some flour as needed and start cutting.  

Look, I keep my cookie cutters in a vintage coffee peculator and it has blue in it!!!!!

Now, I have to admit, I do spend money on my bake ware.  I love the stoneware and I will pay good money to have it.  The more you use it the more seasoned it becomes and the food turns out heavenly.  Oh, I need to get back on track here......Since this is old flour, I don't want to put it directly on my stoneware, so I lay a piece of foil down, which by the way can be used over and over again.  Take a plastic straw, and insert it where you want the hole to be for your ribbon, yarn, or whatever you are going to use to hang your ornament.  I twist it and kinda wiggle it a little bit so that the flour draws up into the hole of the straw.  

It is now ready for the oven.  Set your oven as low as it will go.  Around 100 degrees if possible.  Mine will only go down to 175, so I watch them every thirty minutes.  It takes quite a few hours to bake, usually around 3 hours or so. I pull mine out sooner and let them air dry because I don't want them to crack.  

I probably won't be back until tomorrow with the painting and sealer process, but this gets you started.   

I have some other projects and I also want to try stamping some flour salt dough.  I will spend my evening working with different cookie cutters and stamps for the evening.  

See you tomorrow to finish up the tutorial.....

Once the ornaments is baked you are ready to paint.  I use acrylic paints.  This one I just did a simple white.

You can do a a few coats, up to you,  I just did one.  Now for the embellishments.  Since I am trying to recycle, I cut small snowflakes from my junk mail.  Martha Stewart has a great tutorial on making snowflakes from paper.  I went with the blue of course.  I used decoupage to glue my snowflake on.  I love the idea of a paper snowflake, because no two are alike.....

I spray a sealer.  Probably not necessary, the decoupage is a pretty good sealer, but I like the shine.  Then I sprinkled glitter on the top and let dry.  Add some ribbon or scraps of material to hang.  I think a whole tree filled with these would be awesome.