I had some salt dough left over (wrapped and refrigerated) from our stamped salt dough extravaganza and on a whim invited a friend over for some salt dough fun yesterday. She wanted to try stamping the dough, while I tried a couple of new ideas I've had in mind. Our toddlers wove in and out of the action with playing, snacking, fighting over toys, and working with the salt dough themselves.
The first idea I wanted to try involved punching holes in the salt dough ornaments with a straw to create a lacy effect. We usually use straws to punch a single hole in the top for hanging; this time I punched holes all over. After a while the hole end gets too gunked up to use so I would turn the straw piece upside down, use the other side, then toss it and grab another. I cut the straws into thirds first to reduce waste.
I also tried beaded salt dough ornaments, pressing small glass beads directly into the uncooked dough. I pressed them pretty far in, hoping that they would act kind of like stained glass and allow light to shine through the bead.
Daphne made a few beaded ornaments, too. She loves poking beads in dough and has done it a few times in the past with playdough.
Here is my cookie sheet of punched and beaded ornaments (with a couple of them combining the two techniques) ready for the oven. And once again, here's the salt dough recipe I used this time around: Mix 4 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 1 1/2 cups water. Bake at 225 (or so) Fahrenheit for 3-4 hours.
I LOVE these lacy salt dough stars! They worked so well and are quite sturdy despite being only a 1/4 inch thick and punched full of holes.
But I think I love the beaded "stained glass" salt dough ornaments even more, especially with the sun shining through them. This sweet one was made by Daphne. Love, love, love!
If you liked these candy cane lollipops, then you might like the other winter and holiday crafts and recipes in The Artful Winter ebook:
