For the manufacture of crafts using a lot of different materials. One of the most inexpensive and convenient is considered salt dough. It is easy to cook it yourself. It is a plastic and easy-to-use material. You can do crafts with children, starting from a very young age. Kids like to roll out the dough with a rocking chair, squeeze out different shapes with molds. This fascinating activity is not unique to children. Many artists and craftsmen perform their wonderful work from salt dough.
The article presents different options for making crafts from this material. Given step-by-step instructions and photographs of finished work, there are useful recommendations and tips.
How to make dough?
There are several recipes. We introduce you to some of them. Practice and experience will help you choose the best one.
The first recipe . You need to take two cups of sifted wheat flour of the highest grade, 1 cup of salt (only fine Extra is suitable), 50 ml of PVA glue and water (about half a glass). In a dry form, salt is mixed with flour, then gradually pouring in warm parts a little warm water, and everything is well mixed. At the end, glue is added. If before this the mixture could be prepared using a mixer or a dough mixer, then glue will have to work with your fingers. You need to mix until a homogeneous plastic mass. Finished material is placed in the refrigerator for half an hour.
The second recipe . The following recipe for making salt dough for modeling includes the following components: wheat flour - 200 grams, any salt - 400 grams, cold water - 250-300 ml. Salt is poured into cold water and mixed until completely dissolved. It is advisable to strain the liquid at the end so that grains do not fall into the batch. Then the flour is sieved through a fine sieve and introduced into small bowl in small portions.
When everything is well kneaded, the container is covered with a cotton towel and sent to the cold for a couple of hours. It turns out a strong material, suitable for any work from salt dough.
Starch mass
There are recipes for making starch dough at home. The following ingredients are needed: potato starch - 1 tablespoon, a glass of cold water, a glass of wheat flour and the same amount of salt.
Pour a tablespoon of starch into cold water and mix thoroughly so that there are no lumps. This mixture is poured into an enameled bowl. Then pour half a glass of boiling water, also stirring constantly. It should be a thick substance.
Separately, in a bowl mix the flour and salt in a dry form. Then, with a spoon, gradually add cooled jelly. To perform work from salt dough, you do not need to make it too soft, it is better if it is tight.
Plastic butter dough
Essential Ingredients:
- A third cup of salt.
- Two teaspoons of soda.
- A glass of cold water.
- A glass of wheat flour.
- A spoonful of vegetable oil.
Pour all dry ingredients into a bowl and mix. Separately, add water and oil to the container. The resulting liquid is poured into bulk products and put on low heat, while constantly stirring with smooth movements. It is necessary to check the density of the test. It is ready when the mixture begins to pester the spoon. The fire must be turned off, and the dough put on an empty plate. When it becomes room temperature, it is well kneading with hands.
Storage
If you do not know how to store salt dough, then this advice will not be superfluous. So that the modeling material does not dry out, it must be placed in a plastic bag. A plastic food container is also suitable. It should be covered tightly so as not to let air through.
If you do not have time to put the mass in a bag and it has dried up, then do not worry, this is not scary. You need to add a little water, let the dough stand and soak in the liquid, and then once again mix everything well.
Toys
Different toys can be made from salt dough. To play in the store you can mold vegetables and fruits, fish and sausages, bakery products (loaves, bagels, buns, bagels) and much more. In addition to playing the store, each child will need such a set of products for playing "mother-daughter".
In the children's kitchen you can arrange them on plates, invite dolls to visit, and set the festive table. The child’s fantasy is well developed, so such things can be used quickly. For details to be bright and colored, they can be painted with gouache. So that later in the game the child does not get his hands dirty, the products are opened with varnish.
Cute hedgehogs
Such toys from salt dough are made by rolling first the shape of a ball, then you need to slightly press it down on the sides to make an egg. The face of the beast is made by sharp stretching. A tiny ball is attached to the tip of the nose. The eyes are first pressed into the wand. Then the same balls are inserted into the holes.
To make such beautiful identical thorns, you need to use manicure scissors. They need to cut slices of dough, moving with scissors in a circle. You can attach an apple or a pear to the needles, a fungus is also suitable. Then the product is put to dry and painted. You can add food coloring when kneading directly into the dough and mix thoroughly. Then all the material will be evenly stained.
Fruit
From salt dough you can cook fruit. It can be whole volumetric figures, as well as cut into thin slices. Children, performing such crafts, learn the internal structure of fruits. If you want a solid mass as the main color, then you can add the food color of the desired color at the stage of preparation of the mass for modeling.
The remaining elements are finished by hand with a brush. But this is done after drying. At the end, the work is covered with acrylic varnish.
New Year decoration
It is interesting to make children's crafts from salt dough to decorate the Christmas tree. The guys really love the New Year, they are waiting for gifts from Santa Claus. One of the main entertainments of a holiday is to hang up toys on branches independently. If you invite the child to dream up and make crafts from the dough, he will be very happy and will take up the matter with inspiration.
The first thing that comes to mind as a Christmas decoration is a festively decorated Christmas tree. If there are molds for the test, then you can use them. If you have not purchased them, then it does not matter. You can cut any figure with a knife.
The finished Christmas tree need to be pressed with a finger dents, which are then painted with different colors. These are balls. In addition to such a toy, you can make original balls. Just cut a circle. And then a pattern is squeezed out with different objects. This can be done with a ribbed cap of a felt-tip pen, the bottom of a crystal glass, and a volumetric pattern can be pressed from any interior item.
Then they are baked in the oven and painted or tinted. Do not forget to make a hole in the finished toy for the rope, for which then the child will hang it on a branch.
Houses
Such small multi-colored houses from salt dough are made from a single piece. The roof is pulled out of the cube by squeezing fingers on both sides. Buildings can be not only of different colors, but also of various shapes. Multi-storey and one-story huts from separate logs or a castle with turrets. For children's games, you can make many of the most interesting buildings. For example, a store or pharmacy, movie theater or club.
For the manufacture of colored bases, food coloring must be added at the kneading stage. Then it remains to paint the roof, windows, doors and draw small details.
Glowing house
In the form of houses from salt dough, you can arrange a lamp or a night lamp. To do this, you will need to roll out the sheet with a rocker in a uniform layer. Then cut the same size wall of the future building. Openings are cut out in several walls, through which light will pour.
Then you need to fasten the finished parts together by squeezing the edges with your fingers. The bottom can not be done. So it will be more convenient to put the finished product on top of the candle. The house is not baked for long, since its walls are not thick, and the product is hollow inside. You can paint it, or you can leave it in a natural beige color.
People figures
Girls like to make salt dough dolls. You can put on such a figure made by a baby in clothes made of fabric, sew a hat on her or knit a scarf. Children love dynamic toys with which you can perform some kind of action. But such a figure will not move, so this shortcoming will correct clothes. She can make her hair out of threads by gluing them on her head with superglue.
Such a doll from salt dough, as in this photo, can make an older child or adult. This angel can be hung on a Christmas tree. They mold it in parts. The head is from a round ball. The mouth is pierced by a sharp stick. The stripes on the wings and cloak are drawn with a knife. It is very simple to bring your plan to life with the help of a plastic material such as dough. The main thing is to have an interesting idea. This is real art, you need to be an artist to create figures of people.
Owl
You can try to do such work from salt dough with a child 5-6 years old. You need to carefully follow the step-by-step instructions and consider a photo of the sequence of making the owl figurine:
- First, a large ball of dough is molded.
- A rocking chair needs to be rolled out into a circle with a diameter of 10-12 cm.
- With a cap from a pen or marker you need to push feathers indentation. They cover the bottom of the circle. From above they will not be visible, so there is no point in doing it.
- The next step is to fold the circle in the middle. To do this, visually the part is divided into three equal parts. We perform bends on the left and on the right.
- Then the upper edge of the circle drops by one third and the ears are pulled out.
- Two eyes are squeezed out with a cap and a beak is drawn with a knife.
- The finished owl figurine is put on a slow fire in the oven for half an hour. It is not very voluminous, so you don’t have to dry it for a long time.
When the figure cools down, you can begin to stain. If you want to make not an interior item or a simple craft, but use such a beautiful figure, for example, as a keychain, you will need to make a hole for a ringlet in the middle of your forehead before drying.
Having a step-by-step instruction before your eyes, it’s quite simple to make any figure out of salt dough with your own hands. There are easy options for children's crafts, and there are complex multi-layer paintings that, after painting, you can safely insert into a frame and hang on the wall.
Making crafts from such a light and plastic material is very interesting. If you have not tried it, then, after reading the article, you have all the necessary knowledge to engage in creativity. After all, this does not need a lot of money or any special skills. The main thing is to want. And the rest is sure to succeed!