1 cup water
1 cup salt
2-1/2 cups flour
1. Combine salt and 2 cups of
flour. Mix in water, and work in additional flour if
needed to make a smooth and workable dough.
2. Roll out 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
Dip cookie cutters in flour and then press into
dough. Remove excess dough and put shapes onto
ungreased cookie sheet. If making ornaments, use a
toothpick to make holes for string to pass through.
3. Bake at 250 degrees for 30
minutes on each side, more for really thick items,
less for thin items. Can also be dried at room
temperature, time varies according to the thickness
of the project- overnight-2 days is normal.
4. Paint and seal with a shellac
or other acrylic-type sealer. To keep the salt dough
well for years, do not store in a damp place. Store
in boxes or well-sealed cookie tins on a bed of
uncooked rice to absorb any moisture.
Notes:
I have literally used this stuff since I was a kid.
It's great for 3-D dioramas. I remember reading
"Mary Jemison, Indian Captive" in the 4th grade and
having to do one of those dioramas. My mother helped
my sculpt a scene from the book. We painted and
decorated the showbox and salt dough figures. I got
an A! I've loved the stuff ever since. These days,
we use it as part of our Christmas tradition of the
"Jesse
Tree". I have a small artificial tree that we use to
hang salt dough ornaments on, one for each day of
December up through Christmas. Each night, we put on
of the biblical figures on the tree and read the
corresponding bible story and sing a song. For sheer
bribery, we also have an advent calendar with
chocolate in it. Every day a window is opened on the
calendar, revealing another piece of chocolate. The
kids
love this tradition, and they especially love coming
up with the biblical figures. Because there are 25
stories, we do both Old and New Testaments. We make
characters or symbols for any story we can think of.
Here are our favorites:
-whale (Jonah and the whale)
-baby in basket (Moses)
-birthday cake (Jesus)
-Queen Esther
-horn (Joshua and the story of Jericho)
-apple (Adam and Eve)
-Job
-frog (Ten plagues God sent to Egypt)
-dove (Holy Spirit)
-ark (Noah)
-lion (Daniel)
-baby in manger (Jesus' birth)
-cross (Jesus' death)
-Mary
-Joseph
-sheep
-other nativity characters- shepherds, wise men,
angels, animals, etc.
-rainbow (Abraham)
There are probably some I missed,
this list is off the top of my head.
Contributed by Kim Tilley of
www.frugal-moms.com
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