Modeling from salt dough. How to make salted modeling dough at home: master class, recipes and cooking technology (90 photos)

The roots of this type of creativity lie at the origins of Slavic culture. And more recently, the hobby has become popular again, and not in vain. After all, sculpting from salt dough is a pleasure, and it is accessible to many. The components for such crafts do not need to be purchased or prepared from expensive ingredients. Every home has salt, flour, and butter. This material is much more flexible and durable than gypsum and especially plasticine. You will learn how to make salt dough for crafts below.

Bioceramics

In modern language, the art of modeling dough is called testoplasty or bioceramics. But no matter what name the salt dough crafts have, they are always beautiful! The creation of a new figurine always becomes an event, because when making them, the craftsmen put effort and soul into them. The plastic material allows you to create products of any complexity, sometimes even complete masterpieces. In addition, over time, crafts do not deteriorate or change, and salt protects them from pests.

Its current popularity is growing, and this hobby has attracted the interest of both children and adults. School circles have become involved in the fascination with this ancient form of art due to its accessibility and the possibility of endless embodiment of ideas. Thematic classes are held in kindergartens, and experienced craftsmen create picturesque paintings and realistic three-dimensional figures for home decor.

Creativity

To create something yourself, you need a creative mood, an idea, and the material itself. On the Internet, many sites are full of ready-made works, master classes, collections of photographs on bioceramics, and write how to make salt dough for crafts. Therefore, you won’t need much effort to get inspired.

From the dough you can create any objects, figures, fruits, vegetables, refrigerator magnets and much more. A three-dimensional still life in real size, consisting of a saucer and some fruits that will be easy to mold and decorate even for a child, will look realistic. may include a composition of a rowan sprig created from real pine needles and red dough balls. All this can be arranged in the form of a painting or bas-relief to decorate the walls. It remains to find out for crafts. To prepare it, the ingredients are mixed, and after the toy is made, it is baked.

How to do

You can make salted dough for crafts yourself. To do this, you need to mix all the ingredients and put it on the stove or in the microwave. But there is a method that does not require heat treatment; it is usually used for making large figures when a lot of material is needed. After thorough kneading, they begin to sculpt crafts from salt dough. How to make the dough and which method to choose does not matter, the main thing is that it is thick and elastic, much like for dumplings. The hot cooking option is more flexible and dries better, but it is also a little more difficult to do.

How to make salt dough for crafts? Brewing recipe:

100 g wheat flour;
50 g salt;
1 tsp. cream;
½ tbsp. l. vegetable oil;
150 ml water;
a few drops of food coloring.

Mix flour, salt, cream and butter in a bowl. Dilute the food coloring in water and pour the resulting solution into the flour, avoiding the formation of lumps.

Place the container over low heat, stirring constantly. As it heats, the batter will turn into a thick mass. When it has completely thickened, remove from heat and place on the table. Knead the dough until it becomes soft and suitable for modeling. The same can be done in a microwave oven. To do this, place the bowl with the dough inside at full power (650 W) for one minute. When the time is up, remove to stir, then put back inside. Watch for a while until the dough begins to rise from the bowl. Remove the container from the microwave and wait about three minutes until the salt dough preparation thickens. It’s now clear how to make the dough, all you have to do is knead it as in the first case.

Second option:

150 g flour;
150 g salt;
½ tbsp. l. vegetable oil;
100 g of water.

Mix the ingredients and knead the elastic material in the same way as making salted choux pastry for crafts. To make sculpting easy, it is recommended to prepare the material the day before the planned work. You need to store it in a plastic bag on the refrigerator shelf, and it does not spoil for quite a long time.

Coloring salt dough

If you want to tint the salt dough, then during the cooking process, drop a few drops of food coloring of the desired color into the water. It should be taken into account that after baking the colors will lighten, but if you varnish the product, the shade will become saturated again.

To make fragile relief crafts, add 20 grams of PVA glue and a little potato starch to the dough.

Painting

You don’t have to color the dough during the cooking process, but decorate the already sculpted and baked figure. You can use watercolor, gouache, acrylic paints. Many craftswomen even adapt nail polishes. The finishing touches can be drawn on or highlighted with regular felt-tip pens. Please note that painting temporarily softens the surface of the figurine. Therefore, after registration, let the finished copies dry a little more in the air or in the oven.

What do you need for work?

To sculpt the figures you will need a working tool, often they are ordinary everyday objects. You can use a knife, rolling pin, comb, pen rods, which are convenient for making various holes. Relief knives and children's sets of ready-made molds for working with plasticine are well suited. Everything that is in the house can also be useful. Beads, lace, forks, soles of children's shoes, buttons, designer parts - what can be used to make an imprint on a product.

Drying

You can dry the finished products in the fresh air, but this usually takes a long time, so this is often done in the oven at the lowest temperature, changing the sides of the figures from time to time. Drying time depends on the size of the crafts. Sometimes products are slightly browned to give a natural color, for example, Christmas tree gingerbread cookies, people, pies for decoration.

Flowers

You can start your creativity by making flowers, especially women will like it. Moreover, you already know how to make salt dough for crafts. Making daisies is very easy. Petals can be made by rolling out small strips lengthwise. And decorate the middle with a flattened ball, to which the resulting petals are attached from below. You can take the twigs from a real thuja - they are so similar to chamomile leaves, and also do not spoil. Place the composition in a basket, also made by yourself. It is woven from long strips of the same material as flowers. After everything is dry, you can start painting.

Cats

Cat lovers can practice different variations of funny cats like in the photo. In general, this topic is loved by all adults and children; these animals cannot help but inspire. You can even make a red cat out of salt dough in a primitive way, it will still look wonderful. And a cat created believably is, of course, a job for more experienced craftswomen.

Creating figures from salt dough is not just fun, but also painstaking work that requires perseverance and concentration. Children make crafts from salt dough; the activity is useful for them because it develops not only fine motor skills, but also creative thinking, artistic taste and many other positive qualities.

You will need

- one glass of salt;
- two glasses of flour (you can take any premium flour);
- one glass of cool water;
- 1/2 teaspoon of any vegetable oil (with oil the mass becomes more elastic).

Instructions

So, first of all, you need to prepare all the components and put them in front of you (the thing is, everything will have to be done quickly, the mass dries out quickly, which can negatively affect the quality of the future modeling dough). Next, you need to mix salt in a deep bowl (it’s best to use fine “Extra” salt or sift regular stone salt through a metal sieve) and 1.5 cups of flour, add water to them and mix well. You need to stir for a long time so that there are no lumps.

The next step is kneading the dough. To do this, you need to pour the remaining flour onto the work surface (it is better to use a special board), place the dough on it and gently knead the dough for several minutes until smooth (there should be no unused flour left). Ultimately, the mass should be elastic, not stick to your hands, and the consistency should resemble soft plasticine.

After the dough is ready, you need to wrap it in film (you can also put it in a regular plastic bag) and leave it at room temperature for 15-20 minutes (during this time the mass will finally reach).

After the time has passed, knead the dough thoroughly in your hands again, after which you can begin to get creative and create various figures, paintings, magnets, etc. from the resulting modeling mass.
While sculpting, keep the lump of dough in a closed container and pinch off pieces as needed.

Video on the topic

note

The salt dough can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than two days. It can be stored in the freezer several times longer (15-20 days). During this time it will not lose its properties.

Helpful advice

It is best to make the dough in a cool room, so there will be no problems with it drying out.

Recently, modeling from salt dough using the plasticine principle has become increasingly popular. Stores sell special bright plasticine that looks like a spongy mass. However, it is not that cheap, but it dries out quite quickly. For homework or children's crafts, you can also use salted dough, which is in no way inferior to store-bought material.

For 1 glass of fine salt, take 2 tbsp. flour, about 125 ml of water depending on the quality of flour, flavorings - vanillin, cinnamon, etc., 1-2 tbsp. rich cream or vegetable oil.

If after kneading the dough turns out to be too soft or tight, gradually add the necessary ingredients, water or a mixture of salt and flour, kneading the dough thoroughly.

Before modeling, it is advisable to place the dough in the refrigerator in a plastic bag for 2-3 hours. The dough itself can be colored to make it even more attractive. There are two ways to color: add dyes to the dough before modeling or paint the product after drying.

The dough is dried on a radiator or in the oven at a temperature not exceeding 800C. If the dough is used simply for play, like, it can be stored in the refrigerator in a bag without access to air.

How to color salt dough

Before making salt dough, it is advisable to decide how you will color it in order to prepare everything you need. Coloring can be done using gouache or acrylic paints.

Part of the dough remains white, and part is divided into portions for coloring. The white dough is left to adjust the colors to softer shades.

Multi-colored dough should be stored in different bags or boxes to prevent colors from mixing.

Gold or silver shades can be made using paint or adding glitter gel.

It is important to remember that the color of the dough will lighten slightly as it dries.

Video on the topic

Salt dough is an environmentally friendly and safe material for creativity, modeling from which is popular not only among children, but also among adults. Using a plastic mass, the main components of which are flour, salt and water, you can create a wide variety of crafts: prints of children's hands and feet, panels and three-dimensional paintings, flowers and all kinds of figures. Preparing salt dough takes very little time and requires a minimum of available materials.

Instructions

The main advantages over other materials for modeling are:
1) Material for creativity does not require financial investments, because most often the components necessary for its preparation are at hand.
2) Salt dough is easily washed off your hands and does not stain clothes or the surface used for modeling.
3) The mass does not stick to your hands during use, holds its shape perfectly and has high density.
4) You can dry the molded figures both in the open air and in the oven.
5) Both food coloring and standard coloring materials (gouache, acrylic paints, watercolors, etc.) can be used as a means for coloring crafts.
6) Coating finished products with varnish significantly increases the length of time they retain their original attractiveness.

It is better to take the most ordinary flour for salt dough without all kinds of additives and impurities. For example, flour that is labeled “for pizza,” “pancake,” or “for pancakes” is completely unsuitable for preparing the material. Crafts made from such products can rise well when dried, and then even crack. Avoid rye flour as well - the dough from it will certainly turn out hard and inelastic, and it will be very difficult to sculpt from it.

Use regular fine table salt for the dough. Iodized and sea salt are not suitable - their large grains will not dissolve, and the dough will turn out to be uneven and speckled. As for water, it is better to use cold water, and you should not pour salt and flour with the entire volume of liquid at once; it is better to add water a little at a time and immediately knead the dough thoroughly.

To provide the modeling mass with certain properties during the preparation of salt dough, you can also use additional components. So, dry wallpaper glue will make future ones more durable, hand cream and vegetable oil will give the material plasticity, and food coloring will color the mass in the desired color.

Classic salt dough with a minimum amount of ingredients is ideal. To prepare it, combine half a glass of fine salt and a slightly smaller amount of water at room temperature in a deep bowl. Stir the mixture thoroughly and set it aside for 25 minutes to infuse.

Pour half a glass of flour into the saline solution, stir the mixture thoroughly with a fork, knife or whisk. Try to immediately break up any lumps that arise to obtain an elastic, homogeneous mass. If the dough turns out runny, add more flour. Make sure that the mass does not crumble or fall apart; knead it with your hands until it turns into a stiff dough. Check the readiness of the material with your finger. Leave its trace in the mass, and if the imprint “does not float” but holds its shape, the salt dough is ready for modeling.

To prepare a material that is more delicate in texture, different from traditional salted dough and has a lower density, you will need 2 cups of water, 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, as well as 1 tablespoon each of vegetable oil and citric acid. Such a mass does not stick to your hands at all, is easy to process and does not require much effort when forming various figures, which is why it is considered an ideal material for children's creativity.

To prepare the choux pastry, pour the water into a small saucepan and heat it without bringing it to a boil. Add vegetable oil to the liquid. Combine the dry ingredients in a deep bowl, mix well and gradually add hot water, stirring the mixture periodically with a fork or whisk. At first, the dough will seem very liquid to you, but over time the flour will brew and the mass will become denser. Knead the material until it turns into an elastic, viscous dough, ideal for forming a wide variety of figures.

If you add food coloring in powder, liquid or tablet form to the salt dough at the stage of mixing the ingredients, you can immediately obtain modeling material of a certain shade. To prepare colored salt dough, in a deep cup, combine 300 g of flour, 300 g of salt and 200 ml of water, knead a thick dough that does not stick to your hands.

Divide the mass into several parts, each of which will later acquire a certain shade. Make a small depression in each piece with your finger, add a few drops of water and dye into the hole, wait until the mixture is absorbed and knead the dough again. If the color mixture dries out, add a small amount of vegetable oil to it. Carry out the same procedure with all the remaining pieces. Place the colored material in plastic bags and put it in the refrigerator for several hours.

The next integral step in creating salt dough figurines is drying them in the oven, during which several important recommendations should be taken into account:
- the approximate time for drying products in an electric cabinet at temperatures of 75 and 100°C is an hour, at a temperature of 120°C - 45 minutes, at a temperature of 150°C - half an hour (in a gas oven this process will take 2 times longer);
- for drying items decorated with beads, rhinestones and other decorative elements, set the temperature not exceeding 120°C;
- periodically turn the crafts over to achieve maximum uniform drying;
- To prevent the figures from sticking to the baking sheet, place food foil on it.

Hello, dear moms and dads and all, all visitors to our blog about the creative development of children!

Finally, our blog begins publishing articles on the topic of salt dough, and today I will share with you my experience of working with salt dough - recipes, manufacturing technology, drying, storage, sealing cracks and many other interesting and useful things. In general, everything about the test from A to Z.

One of my favorite activities with young children is making salt dough crafts. You can’t even imagine how many interesting things you can make from it. Salty dough is very easy to prepare and at the same time pleasant to the touch.

It is very simple to prepare - flour and salt can be found in every home. Mix 2 cups of flour, a cup of salt and a glass of water. To make the products colorful, add the same dye you use to color eggs.

Let's look in detail at how to make salted dough for modeling with children, all the nuances, and the rules for working with the dough.

How to make salt dough.

There are many different recipes for making salt dough, but I think this is the easiest and fastest.

* 1 glass of salt;

* 1 half glass of water;

* 2 cups of flour;

* 1 tbsp. spoon of vegetable oil.

If you are used to measuring everything in grams, then you can take this recipe:

* 300 g flour;

* 300 grams of salt;

* 200 g of water;

* 1 tbsp. spoon of vegetable oil.

For work, it is best to use fine “Extra” salt. If you don’t have it, then sift regular salt through a sieve or grind it in a coffee grinder and work with it.

Flour must be white, first grade.

Use only cold water for testing.

For elasticity, you can add 1 tbsp to the dough. a spoonful of vegetable oil.

You can add 0.5 cups of starch to the dough (remove the same amount of flour). Then the dough will become more elastic and fine details, such as flower petals, can be made from it.

And if you add a little PVA glue to the dough, the products will become more durable.

So, let’s make salty play dough with children:

1. Mix salt and flour well in a bowl.

2. Gradually add water and knead into a soft dough.

3. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, adding a little flour at a time (this creates a nice smooth texture and removes air bubbles from the dough).
Let the dough sit for about twenty minutes before working with it.

The dough should be pliable, soft, elastic, but not liquid.

If the dough turns out watery, and you have used all the flour according to the recipe (this depends on the type of flour, softness of the water, etc.), continue kneading it until it becomes elastic, adding a little flour at a time.

After resting, you can use the dough as you wish.

Working with the dough.

Knead the dough longer to get rid of those annoying air bubbles. Use a rolling pin to roll out. If you want a nice, even surface, use two identical pieces of wood. Simply place them parallel to each other, place a piece of dough between them, and roll them out with a rolling pin.

If the dough is too dry or a little dry, just wet your hands with water and continue working. If, on the contrary, it is too wet, simply spray a mixture of equal amounts of salt and flour on the board and knead it.

Materials and tools needed to work with the dough , which you may need depending on the manufacture of a particular product:

* rolling pin;

* board for rolling out dough;

* scissors - for making uneven surfaces;

* garlic press – in hair making;

* cup - for kneading dough;

* scales or measuring spoon;

* plastic knife or stack;

* sharpened stick, toothpick or pencil - for indentations;

* brush, watercolor paints or gouache, felt-tip pens - for coloring;

* colorless quick-drying varnish;

* water jar;

* hand wipe;

* salt, flour, vegetable oil, water.

The board for working with salt dough should be smooth. Choose a material so that the dough does not stick to it while working. It is necessary to use a board; it will protect your table from scratches and dirt.

After drying, it is necessary to coat the product with varnish. You can take any colorless varnish, and even hairspray.

Using various materials to decorate salt dough products.

Of course, painted, colorful figures will look very good. But if you show your imagination, then your products will come to life and acquire a unique individual look and beauty. Let's say you can make hair for your hero from any thread, gluing it with PVA glue, sew a dress from fabric or knit a blouse.

You can make eyes from black peppercorns or cloves (when sculpting, insert into the dough, after moistening it with water).

Make a red dough, mold a strawberry and roll it in semolina, and then dry it in the oven.

You can come up with all kinds of ornaments and patterns by decorating the product with seeds, cereals, and dried flowers.

When working with salt dough, you may also need the following materials: matches, fruit sticks, fishing line, bay leaves, tree leaves, bristles from an old brush, various fabrics - lace, mesh, canvas, etc.

Mold, taking an extraordinary approach to the selection of materials for work: shells, pebbles, fabric, pieces of glass, mirrors, porcelain, fur, leather and much more are interesting to add to the dough.

In general, fantasize, and you will succeed!

How to dry salt dough products.

So, you made whatever you wanted from salt dough, everything worked out for you. But that’s not all: to keep the appearance of the product unchanged, you need to dry it well.

This is best done in the oven at a low temperature - 50-100 degrees. Place parchment paper (or baking paper, or a cotton rag) on a baking sheet, and place the salt dough products on it. This way they won’t stick and will come off better. Dry for 3-4 hours or more (depending on the thickness of the product).

Check the product regularly to ensure it does not burn or swell. If, after all, air bubbles have formed during the drying process, carefully pierce them with a needle and gently press onto the dough.

But before the oven, it is better to keep the dough work for two or three days in a dry room or in the sun (to preserve the texture).

When the product is dry, open the oven door and leave until completely cool. Only after this can the product be removed from the oven, otherwise small cracks may form.

Thin products made from salt dough can be dried in a warm room for several days.

What to do if the work is cracked.

Yes, unfortunately, this happens often when working with salt dough, especially for beginners. But don't worry, it's not that bad. Try sealing the crack with PVA glue.

Add flour to PVA glue until you get a thick sticky paste. Moisten the crack a little with a (wet) brush and seal it with a paste of glue and flour. Rub on top with a slightly wet brush. Let dry thoroughly.

This method is suitable if the product has not yet been painted. To seal cracks in painted salt dough products, you will have to make a paste of the desired color.

That's all - the crack is hidden, no one will notice it now.

How to color a product made from salt dough.

Before you start painting your salt dough creation, you can lightly go over it with fine sandpaper to make it smooth. Use fine sandpaper to sand down sharp corners, etc. This will give you a nice smooth surface to paint on.

Suitable paints for painting crafts made from salt dough are watercolor, acrylic, gouache, as well as felt-tip pens and gel pens. But do not forget that the product must dry thoroughly before painting, and during painting, use as little water as possible so that the dough does not soften.

You can make the dough colored even before modeling, at the kneading stage. For this you can use any food coloring, gouache, ink.

Or you can try making a marble color. To do this, mix into the already prepared dough two different dyes, and after crushing it a little, start sculpting.

Natural colors for adding to salt dough.

If you add milk to the dough, then after drying the product will acquire a yellowish-golden hue. And the face dough can be colored using carrot juice. You can also use cocoa powder (brown shades) and beet juice to color the salt dough.

After the paint has completely dried, coat the salt dough product with colorless varnish.

Storing salt dough.

If you and your baby did not immediately use the prepared salt dough, you can safely save it for further work. To do this, put the dough in a plastic bag and seal it tightly. You can take not a bag, but a plastic container. The main thing is that no air should get into it so that the dough does not dry out.

Once packaged, store the dough in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.

Next time, take the dough out of the refrigerator and knead it well. If the dough is a little dry, wet your hands when kneading. If, on the contrary, there is a lot of moisture, mix a little flour with salt.

Now you know how to make salted play dough with children and all the nuances of working with it.

Sincerely.
Elena Medvedeva.

Subscribe to our blog updates and you will be the first to know about new developments for your baby:

Together with children, they create toys, crafts, souvenirs and even entire paintings from homemade “plasticine”. The dough turns out beautiful, elastic, soft and most importantly safe, even for the youngest masters! Every mother can prepare an original mass if she has a handful of white flour, a glass of cold water and a little fine salt!

How to make play dough - a classic recipe

Thanks to its simple composition, the mass is made quickly, and you can immediately start exercising! The finished material makes good small toys and small crafts. We will need:

A glass of white flour.
A glass of fine salt.
120 ml of cold clean water.

The dry ingredients are mixed well in a prepared bowl, then water is poured in portions. The dough is kneaded intensively until an elastic and pliable mass is obtained.

How to make colored play dough

An unusual colored dough will arouse strong emotions, interest and a great desire to be creative in your child! You can decorate a small piece with natural dyes: from carrot juice you get orange, from beets or cherries you get red, if you add cocoa powder you get brown or beige, from grated spinach you get green, and from settled hibiscus tea you get blue. But if we are talking about large volumes, it is better to add gouache or food coloring. So, the necessary ingredients:

250 grams of sifted white rye flour.
250 g fine salt Extra.
1 tbsp. l sunflower oil.
150 grams of purified water.

Mix flour, butter and salt well, then add water and knead. The dough should be soft and pliable!

How to make edible plasticine

Yes, yes, it’s edible! The novelty came to us from the West and helps parents make pleasant things much more useful - to amuse and treat their beloved child! Unusual berries, fruits and toys are sculpted with great pleasure by toddlers and older children, but the most interesting thing is that you can eat all this later! The manufacturing process is extremely simple and even preschoolers can do it! Delicious modeling will bring a lot of positivity and laughter to the whole family, so get started quickly.

Ingredients:

100 grams of melted unsalted plums. oils
1 tbsp fresh heavy cream.
600 grams of powdered sugar.
A pinch of vanilla.
Gel food coloring, but you can do without it if the baby is small.

Cooking method:

Using a mixer, beat butter and cream until smooth.
Gradually add powder and vanilla, knead the dough.
Divide the resulting mass into 3 parts, drop the required amount of dye onto each and knead again.
If you do not want to add dyes and vanilla, you can leave the “plasticine” white. The dough is ready - the land of Fantasy and edible modeling are waiting for you!

How to make choux pastry for modeling

To make the resulting craft shine without varnish, the craftswomen came up with a trick - adding glycerin to the dough. Let's look at an interesting recipe, we will need:

2 cups boiling water.
400 grams of white flour.
Half a teaspoon of glycerin.
2 tbsp. spoons of cream of tartar and the same amount of sunflower oil.
100 gr. fine salt, coloring.

We make the base - combine butter, cream of tartar, flour and salt. The water needs to be brought to a boil, then pour the resulting flour base into it. Next, add glycerin and dye, boil until the mass becomes homogeneous. The resulting dough needs to be cooled and kneaded thoroughly again, if necessary, you can add a little flour.

Methods for drying play dough

To make the finished craft more durable and not crack, it must be dried. There are many ways, but we will look at the most popular:

Drying in a hot oven - place the craft on a baking sheet lined with parchment and place in a preheated oven, no more than 80 degrees. Drying should take place with the door slightly open for about 1 hour.
Drying in a cold oven - all steps are similar to the previous method, only the craft is first placed in the oven and only then turned on to warm up.
Natural drying is the longest, but proven and most reliable method of drying. The product is laid out on a wooden or plastic surface and dried for 3-4 days.

The shelf life of homemade plasticine is exactly one month; store it only in the refrigerator, wrapped in cling film or placed in a closed container.

Many needlewomen who are fond of modeling, or mothers whose young children have chosen this hobby, have tried many materials. Interesting figures, jewelry, paintings are created using clay, plasticine, plastic (polymer clay). Another original and environmentally friendly material that every woman can create with her own hands is salt dough. With its help, amazingly beautiful products are obtained. But few people know how to make salt dough correctly. Below you will learn some good, proven recipes.

Salted dough for modeling at home

Salt dough is a material that has gained wide popularity among needlewomen. It is often used for modeling with small children, because, unlike plasticine, which contains substances that are not very beneficial for a child’s skin, such dough is safe. And if there is no glue in the composition, nothing bad will happen if the baby swallows a piece while making crafts. Several advantages of salt dough over other materials:

Does not require serious financial investments. As a rule, the necessary ingredients for cooking are always at hand.
It is quickly washed off your hands and leaves no marks on clothes or surfaces.
It has good density properties, holds its shape, and does not stick to your hands during sculpting (if it is mixed well and correctly).
Subsequent drying of finished products can be carried out both in the oven and in air.
Many substances are suitable for coloring the resulting crafts, including natural dyes.
If you coat the finished products with varnish, they will be preserved for a long time.

Modeling is a great activity that will bring a lot of fun to both adults and young children. In children, this hobby will help develop fine motor skills and contribute to the development of the ability to concentrate, which is especially important in the preschool period. Finished products can be given to close friends and relatives as gifts for the holidays, paintings made from salt dough will decorate the house, and toys will be an excellent reminder of the child’s tender age. In addition, joint modeling will bring parents and children closer, which is also an undeniable advantage of this activity.

Required Ingredients

Preparing salt dough is a process that requires care, especially for those who are making such a mixture for the first time. However, the number of ingredients is small and many of them can be found in every housewife’s kitchen. The basis of any version of the dough is salt and wheat flour, which are kneaded with water. Some people prepare a mixture of wheat and rye flour to make the material easier to process. To make the dough more elastic and thick, needlewomen can use the following additional ingredients:

Dry wallpaper glue. This component will help make future products more durable.
Vegetable oil or regular hand cream will give the salt dough plasticity, making it easier to sculpt.
Kissel made from potato starch. This ingredient can be used instead of water to make the dough pliable. How to prepare: Dissolve a teaspoon of potato starch in half a glass of water. Mix with a glass of freshly boiled water. Put the liquid on the fire, keep it until the mass becomes thick - the water substitute is ready.
Food and other dyes to create colored dough.

DIY dough making tools

To make salt dough, you will need a wide mixing bowl and an oven (in the cold season, a radiator is suitable; in the summer, if there is no oven, the material can be dried in the sun). For ease of modeling, it is better to take a baking sheet or board: besides, on the latter you can then immediately bake the finished crafts. It is also advisable to have a plastic bag at home where the dough will be stored for some time so that it does not dry out. An excellent replacement would be a container with a lid. What else you might need:

Spoons, glasses to measure the amount of ingredients.
Special spatulas for modeling.
Brushes if painting will be done.
Gouache, acrylic, other paints.

Test options and features of working with it

Every needlewoman who has been making puff pastry for a long time has her own secrets for creating this material. Some have learned experimentally to check the ideal ratio of all components, while others supplement the classic recipe with interesting ingredients that increase the plasticity of the base for modeling. Below you can learn several ways to create salt dough, see step-by-step photos of its preparation, and learn important secrets that help make the material perfect.

Classic recipe for beginners

This classic recipe will help beginners create salt dough with a minimum of ingredients. All you need to make the mass is fine salt (extra), wheat flour and water. The material prepared according to this recipe retains its properties for up to two weeks when stored in the refrigerator. Over time, you will learn to determine the required amount of ingredients by eye.

How to do:

Pour salt (half a glass) into a wide bowl. Next, pour in water at room temperature - it should be a little less than half a glass. Stir the liquid thoroughly for five minutes, then let the solution sit for a quarter of an hour. Some grains will remain at the bottom, but this is normal, then they will disperse in the dough.
Carefully add half a glass of wheat flour, kneading it well with a fork or spoon. Try to “break” the resulting lumps to make kneading easier. You should get a homogeneous mass.
If after cooking the dough sticks to your hands or looks runny, you need to add more flour. Check the readiness of the material by leaving a mark in the mixture with your fingers. If it doesn’t “float”, holds its shape, everything is ready.
You can start sculpting immediately after cooking.

Chouxed salty dough

Choux salted dough is more delicate in texture; it differs from the classic version in that it is less dense. Unlike the result of the previous recipe, this material will be more viscous. Children are delighted with it, because the choux pastry does not stick to their hands. You can use plasticine molds as modeling tools. What ingredients will you need:

Two glasses of water.
A tablespoon of vegetable oil.
Two glasses of flour.
One glass of salt.
A tablespoon of citric acid.

How to cook:

Heat water in a saucepan, do not bring to a boil. Add vegetable oil.
Place the remaining ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Then pour hot water into it. You can start kneading the mass with a fork or using a mixer.
The mixture will be liquid at first, continue kneading without stopping. In hot water, the flour will brew and become denser.
Knead until the material becomes thick and viscous. You can add dyes and glitter while the mixture is still hot. Ready!

How to knead the dough correctly

All ingredients of the classic recipe (flour, salt, water) should be kneaded with a fork, spoon, mixer or hands. You need to do this for a long time until the lumps are completely broken. If the salt dough is too liquid, add wheat flour to the mixture. Please note that when kneading, the mass should not crumble or fall apart. To prevent this from happening, knead the mixture thoroughly until you get a stiff dough.

How to make colored dough for crafts

Children involved in making crafts will appreciate the colored material. You can paint the products after drying them, or add coloring agents to the ingredients so that the finished modeling mass immediately turns out to be a certain shade. Food dyes are suitable - powder, liquid, tablets. The tablets must be crushed before preparation. Required ingredients:

Three hundred grams of white flour and fine salt.
Two hundred milliliters of water.
Two tablespoons of vegetable oil.

How to do:

Mix flour, salt, water, knead into a stiff, thick dough that will not stick to your hands.
Divide the mass into parts: there should be as many of them as you want to get flowers.
Take a piece of finished material and make a depression with your fingertip. Pour water there on the tip of a teaspoon. Place powder on top or pour liquid dye - it should dissolve and be absorbed.
Start kneading the dough again until the mixture is completely colored. If it dries out a little, add a little vegetable oil.
Repeat the same procedure with the remaining pieces.
Place in a bag and leave in the refrigerator until the next day. Ready!

How to color dough for children

Coloring finished products is another pleasant moment that adults and children enjoy. If we talk about paints, then regular gouache or acrylic is best. You can also use gold or silver paint. To make the item durable, coat the painted craft with varnish. You can also decorate the product with beads, sequins, rhinestones, beads, taking into account the preferences of the kids.

How and how long to dry the dough in the oven

After modeling comes the next important stage in creating crafts - they need to be dried. You can use an oven for this. At room temperature, one millimeter of material dries per day. You should not dry molded items in the microwave - they may crack and lose their pleasant appearance. Oven drying is better than other methods. A few rules for drying finished products:

The approximate time for spending crafts in an electric oven at temperatures of 75 and 100 degrees is one hour, at 120 - half an hour, at 150 - half an hour. In a gas oven, drying will take approximately twice as long.
Pay attention to the size: if the item has overall dimensions, the longer it will take. Monitor the temperature by opening the door slightly.
Turn the product over periodically.
If you decorated the item with decorative materials, such as rhinestones or beads, you cannot set the temperature above one hundred and twenty degrees.
Place food foil on a baking sheet: then the crafts will not stick.

What can be made from salt dough

Many interesting things can be made from salt dough. This could be jewelry - intricate earrings, beautiful pendants, beads for bracelets. The material is perfect for creating children's toys - animal figurines, fairy-tale characters, and various objects. Experienced needlewomen are able to make real works of art using such dough: beautiful paintings and panels are very popular. Read below for some more ideas for creating different things.

Prints and casts of arms and legs

During the first months and years of life, a small child grows rapidly. At this time, young couples want to capture the baby in order to remember him forever at this age. Almost every family now has a camera, so needlewomen come up with other original ways to do this. For example, parents can leave their baby's hand or foot prints on the salt dough. When the child grows up, he will be interested to see this.

Paintings and panels

Three-dimensional paintings made using salt dough look amazingly beautiful. Such things will become a wonderful interior decoration and will amaze the guests who see them. In addition, a hand-made panel can serve as a wonderful gift for any celebration - birthday, wedding. Unusual paintings will delight the recipient of the gift for a long time.

Figurines and flowers

Creating figures and sculpting plants is calming and brings real pleasure. A needlewoman can make things using salt dough independently or together with children. Having once tried to make such figures, the kids will get carried away with this activity with pleasure. It will be even more interesting to then paint the resulting products from an unusual material.