Salty dough is a wonderful, soft and cheap material for children's creativity. It’s easy to work with it, the actions for doing crafts resemble modeling from plasticine, only after drying the work is stored for a long time and becomes solid. You can start making crafts from a very young preschool age, because it’s much easier for a child to roll out soft dough rather than hardened clay in his still immature fingers. During operation, clothes remain clean, which cannot be expected when using clay.
What to mold from salt dough? Any figure, both flat and three-dimensional. A thin layer is rolled out with an ordinary rolling pin and various figures of animals or fish are squeezed out by baking dishes. An adult master can use a knife to cut out any contour along a drawn stencil, and then add small details. Volumetric figures are sculpted step by step, starting with a central, large element, decorating it with additional parts.
In the article we will give a recipe for salt dough, you will learn from which ingredients the plastic mass is kneaded for doing crafts. We also consider what can be molded from salt dough with children, how to dry thin and voluminous figures. We will share the secrets of making colored material, as well as coloring finished dried crafts with a brush.
Salt dough recipe
If you figured out what to mold from salt dough, the first thing you need to do is mix the soft and supple mixture in children's hands. There are several recipes for preparing material for modeling at home. Main ingredients: small table salt, white wheat flour and water. The remaining components are added for the plasticity of the mixture. Consider one of the most popular recipes, which is suitable specifically for working with children.
Prepare a large bowl and dry dry 2 cups white flour and half a serving of salt. Be sure to take only a small fraction. It will dissolve faster, and pebbles will not come across in the mass for sculpting. Then pour half a glass of cold water into a homogeneous mixture and mix thoroughly. To give greater elasticity to the material, it is recommended to add 1 tbsp. l vegetable oil or baby hand cream. To do the job faster and better, you can use the kitchen assistants - a blender or a dough mixer.
Shop Set
When the dough is cooked, you can start creating. What to mold from salt dough with a child? Of course, you need to start with the simplest things. For example, to mold vegetables and fruits for playing in the store. These are small toys that a child of 4-5 years old can easily make.
Prepare a plastic stack for drawing small parts and cutting off excess dough, a small rolling pin, a ballpoint pen for pushing holes, a plank for modeling, a container of water. For an adult master - a knife.
You can make toys from salt dough in the same ways as when working with ordinary plasticine. They use methods of rolling and pressing, pulling and pinching, flattening in the palms or between fingers. All of them are necessary for the development of hand motility in a child. In addition, the baby during the game will quickly remember the appearance and structure of each object, which will undoubtedly develop the child’s mental abilities.
Methods of sculpting toys
Before starting work, you need to consider not only what to mold from salt dough, but also which method of work to choose. Consider all the known options:
- Constructive. Each item is made up of individual parts, which are then combined into a single structure by pressing or rubbing the dough. To ensure that the elements are well connected, you need to use the water prepared in a bowl. It is enough to wet your hands slightly to make the dough more moist and supple.
- Plastic. This type of work with both dough and clay or clay is the manufacture of an object from one piece of material. All small parts are made by stretching.
- Combined. This method of molding includes the pulling of individual parts from a common formation, and the attachment of some elements by pressing and rubbing, that is, the connection of the first and second methods described above.
How to mold a lark of salt dough
An early bird is a migratory bird that is one of the first to return to its native land. In the spring, you can make a light crafts with a child for a family of larks and place a finished, dried and painted figure in a nest of branches. To do the work, the salt dough must be divided into two equal parts and rolled up "sausages" of the same thickness and length. Then lay them next to the plank and tie a single knot first of the front, and then the rear ends.
The edge of each sausage stays outside. A round head with a pointed beak is formed on one side of them by stretching and pressing the dough with your fingers. To make the tail of the craft, you need a fork. It is convenient to flatten the dough with it, in addition, the striped print resembles the feathers of the tail. The eyes are made of small seeds by pressing deep into the dough. You can use beads or plastic balls, any material will do.
Snowman for the little ones
Often, crafts are made before the New Year holidays. They will be needed to decorate the Christmas tree or decorate the room. Such a simple piece of work can be planned by the teacher in the younger group of the kindergarten. You need to cook soft dough and divide it into three parts in order of increasing breast size. The teacher shows in detail how to mold a figure from salt dough. The kid should roll each part in his palms and give it a spherical shape, and then flatten the ball on the plank.
It remains only to connect the parts of the snowman and decorate the craft with small buttons. To be able to hang a Christmas toy on a branch, be sure to make a hole on top. When the craft is completely dry, you need to paint the snowman. Gouache paints, which are usual for a kindergarten, are suitable for this. First, the entire figure is painted in white, and then it remains to draw the character's eyes, nose and mouth.
Easter egg
If you still think that you can mold from salt dough, then you can advise making a flat Easter egg. For work, you need a rolling pin and a metal egg shape, a ballpoint pen rod to squeeze out holes for a rope or ribbon (optional).
From a small breast of salt dough, a layer of 5-7 mm thick is rolled out. Then put the form in place and crush it with the palm of your hand. The excess dough is laid aside, and in the remaining egg, a hole is made with the handle shaft.
The main work on the craft begins after drying the workpiece. Painting Easter eggs is a creative affair. Any idea can be realized. It is interesting to make both geometric and floral ornaments. First draw a background, let the paint dry, and then get down to small details. Insert a bright ribbon into the hole and tie a beautiful bow. You can insert a loop for hanging eggs on a stand.
Decorative pendant
The photo below shows a sample of a flat pendant in several parts. This is a separate body and 2 feet, interconnected by ropes. How to make a cat out of salt dough? First you need to draw a template of all the details on a sheet of cardboard. Then we transfer the contours to the rolled layer of salt dough. Next, you need to cut out the eyes and front paws of the cat from the same layer, give them the necessary shape and chop the pattern out of the holes. It is more convenient to cut the claws at the ends of the paws with a stack or a knife. Insert a coin into the character’s hands.
The nose in the shape of a ball is rolled separately in the palms, and then indented is fixed to the center of the cat's face. Do not forget to make a hole for the rope with an awl or ballpoint pen. They will be needed both above and below the body. And on top you need to make an additional hole for attaching the pompom in the center.
Separately, roll small breasts of dough for the hind legs, or rather, the feet. Finger lines are cut from their wide side and the cap from the felt-tip pen is pressed shallowly. On a narrow part make a hole for twine.
When all the parts have dried, it remains to color the craft, insert the ropes and make the yarn of a white pompom from the yarn.
Owl
Introducing another owl-shaped pendant. You already know how to mold a bird from salt dough, because the way to do flat crafts is identical to that already described above. It is enough to transfer the template drawn on the cardboard onto the rolled sheet of dough and carefully cut with a knife along the contours. Then, with the stack, you need to draw all the small details: feathers, wings. Separately cut out or manually roll out the eyes, beak and attach by pressing to selected places.
Paws with claws cut out are fixed in the center with a wire in one hole. Also do another in the center of the head of this feathered predator. After drying, the workpiece is covered with acrylic varnish. For dark areas use stain.
Creating a three-dimensional shape on a plane
Let's look at how to mold a cat from salt dough using a painted image of an animal. Spread parts directly on a sheet of paper. Actions are performed step by step, by pulling, they achieve complete similarity in the shape and size of the elements. Then they are interconnected and thoroughly ironed all joints using water.
The eyes and the protruding part of the beast's face are molded separately and attached already on top of the finished work. At the manufacturing stage, you can insert any part into the paws, for example a plastic fork.
After painting, the figure can be glued flat on a rectangle cut out of plywood and insert the picture into the frame. Such an interesting craft will decorate any nursery.
Salty hedgehogs
It is incredibly simple to make a hedgehog figure out of salt dough. Be sure to add vegetable oil to the mixture so that the material is malleable and ductile. First you need to roll a ball from the dough, then lengthen the front of the workpiece by indentation from all sides.
Place the workpiece on the plank and press down a little to make the bottom flat and the figure should stand well in a vertical position. Needles are made by scoring with scissors, starting from the head of the animal. Try to keep the distance between the cuts the same, otherwise the craft will look untidy.
At the end, beads are inserted into the eyes and nose. Additionally, a fungus or an apple can be placed on the needles. After drying, the craft is painted and covered with acrylic varnish.
Piglet
With older children, try to make a voluminous craft of the popular cartoon character about Winnie the Pooh - a pig named Piglet. It is best to do it in a plastic way, namely by drawing individual elements from one piece of salt dough. First, you need to divide one large piece into two parts: leave the smaller for the head, and the large for the trunk. Between them, leave a narrow neck jumper. To prevent the head from falling over on its side, it is recommended to insert a piece of wire or a toothpick into the neck area inside the dough.
Further work consists in pulling out dough for small details: paws, ears and a patch (nose). If the toy is intended as a pendant, then between the ears on the head you need to insert a ring of wire into the dough. After drying, Piglet needs to be colored accordingly along with the character.
Cosmonaut
April 12 is annually celebrated Cosmonautics Day. In kindergartens and schools may be invited to participate in the exhibition of crafts. Making astronaut out of salt dough is easy. This is an ordinary person with arms and legs. Do not spare the body test, because the cosmonaut's suit should be spacious. At the junction of the spacesuit and boots, the thickness of the dough is significantly reduced. The main work is carried out on the helmet. The astronaut's head is molded large and spherical. The contours of the glass are cut out in a front stack, and after drying the dough in the oven, depict the astronaut's face on it. To color the costume correctly, find the photo of a real astronaut on the Internet and carefully consider it.
Warning!
If you are going to work with salt dough, then check your child’s hands for cracks and scratches. Since the mixture contains fine salt, when it enters the wound, it causes a painful burning sensation. The child will not want to continue sculpting if he experiences pain. If this has already happened, rinse your hands under running water and grease the redness with baby cream or oil.
In the article, we presented options for various crafts. Now you know what to mold from salt dough with children. Try and create for your own pleasure!