Salt Dough

Hey guys,

You'll be pleased to hear that I survived the training weekend! Woop! I still have 2 left but at least my group didn't get too lost when we were walking on our own!

This week's post is a recipe, but a slightly different recipe... you probably shouldn't eat this one! It's salt dough. This dough can be used to create little ornaments or coasters or a lot of other things. My use relates to Mother's Day, which was today! I made some little circles that I wrote quotes on for my mum to give to her as a present. For the measurements of this dough I didn't measure it at all since the recipe I found online was in cups. I'm pretty sure you don't need to be entirely accurate with the measurements; so long as it has a dough-like consistency and isn't too wet.

You will need; an old-ish bowl (I just used an old lunch box), a spoon, a cup, plain (all-purpose) flour (but you can use self-raising flour too), salt, water and anything you will need to make any shapes you want (like a rolling pin, cookie cutters or a sharp knife).

You need to mix together, in the bowl, 1 cup of water and 1 cup of salt. I did this first because it meant I could dissolve the salt before trying to thicken it up. You then need to mix in 2 cups of flour. This will thicken up the mix into a dough. You may have to add more (or less) flour depending on the consistency but make sure you have some left to put on the surface you are rolling it out on.

(It looked a bit gross at this point)

The best idea is to roll out the dough so that it isn't too thick, the thicker it is, the longer you will have to bake it for to harden it. You can then cut out any shapes you like but when you bake it, it is a good idea to put it on some grease-proof paper so that it doesn't stick to the baking tray. I put mine in the oven, on a low heat (about 90 degrees Celsius) for about an hour and a half but yours may take longer if they are thicker. Try not to bake them on too high of a temperature as they may burn, there also isn't really time amounts, it's all a matter of when the clay is completely solid that it is done (or at least that's what the recipe I found said).

After they were done, I painted them white with acrylic paint (but you could use any paints) and wrote quotes on them with felt tips. 

For example; this quote by Phil Dunphy from Modern Family! This one is definitely one of my favourites! That and, 'go through life like a duck, majestic on top but kicking like hell below the surface.

My mum really liked these quote stones! I made an effort to make each one different and as happy as possible! I hope you guys give this a go because you can truly make anything with it! There is also a lot of ideas you can find on Pinterest for it! And it makes a good, quick craft for children too! Especially on rainy days or in the school holidays.

Next week is my practice expedition for my DofE so my post may go up on Monday instead. Wish me luck...

Until next time

Grace

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