Salt Dough Decoration To Make With The Children To Celebrate Autumn

2023 Author: Lynn Laird | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 09:49

Autumn is knocking on the door and with it the long afternoons and evenings at home. Now is a good time to look for ideas to fill your kids' free time. Indeed, children love to make sculptures in clay, plasticine or kinetic sand. It's a great creative activity after school or on a rainy weekend. Today we bring you a great alternative of material to prepare with inexpensive ingredients that everyone has in their kitchen cabinets. In addition, it is very resistant over time. Read on to find out more and discover our salt dough decoration proposals for the fall! Have fun with your kids!

Learn how to make a salt dough decoration - all the useful information

To begin with, first of all you need to master the preparation of salt dough. To make it easier for you, we present a universal recipe that still gives better results.

Easy recipe with 3 ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of salt
• 1 cup of water

Instructions

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the water little by little as you may need less than a cup. Knead the mixture until you obtain a homogeneous dough that does not stick to the fingers. It's ready !

How to color the salt dough?

You can color the preparation before making your salt dough decoration by adding natural food coloring or spices. However, consider dissolving the coloring substance in water before mixing with the dry ingredients. Or, you can also wait for your salt dough creations to dry and then paint them with acrylic paint.

In addition, you are free to flavor the salt dough by adding a few drops of essential oil of ginger, lavender or cinnamon.

How to dry?

The best way to dry your salt dough decoration is to put it in the oven at low temperature (100 ° C) to avoid any burning or swelling. The drying time varies according to the thickness of the paste. If necessary, return from time to time to speed up the process.

If you don't have time to wait to dry your creations in the oven, you can use the microwave. Normally 10 seconds will suffice. Alternatively, the salt dough can be dried by leaving it in a warm room but this will take a few days.

Seal the salt dough

It is recommended that you seal your paste if you want it to last. Otherwise, moisture can get inside and ruin it. Thanks to the Mod Podge spray sealant you can keep the salt dough decoration you made with your children for years.

Conservation

If you have made ornaments that you want to reuse every year, make sure they are properly stored in an airtight box. Wrapping your designs in kitchen roll or tissue paper will also help protect them from moisture.

Last tip: Keep salt dough away from pets as it can be dangerous for them.

DIY autumn leaves in salt dough - tutorial

Make the salt dough

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of salt
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• food coloring

Combine the flour, salt, water and oil in a bowl. Then add a little more flour or water if needed until the dough reaches the desired consistency. Divide the dough into smaller bowls. Add food coloring in to create various fall colors. Let the game begins !

Make the leaves

Materials:

• salt dough
• leaf shaped cookie cutter
• baking tray
• wooden skewer
• string or wire
• parchment paper

Place a piece of parchment paper on the baking sheet. And also protect your work plan. Flatten the pieces of salt dough with a rolling pin or your fingers. Then use the cookie cutters to cut out leaves.

Place the leaves on the baking sheet. Use the wooden skewer to punch a small hole in the top of each leaf.

Bake decorative autumn leaves at 200 ° C for 3-4 hours. Let them cool and harden overnight. When ready, you can tie some string through the hole in each to hang them. Use them to create a garland, napkin rings, or fall decor above the fireplace. Be creative!

Salt dough pumpkin ornament with imprint - tutorial

Materials

• 1 cup of lukewarm water and 1 tablespoon of lukewarm water
• 1 cup of salt and 1 tablespoon of salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour plus an additional amount
• orange and green food coloring
• black acrylic paint
• brush

Instructions

1. In a bowl, combine the cup of lukewarm water and the orange food coloring. In another bowl, mix the tablespoon of lukewarm water and the green food coloring. Add as much dye to get the shade you want.

2. Add salt to the colored water. Stir well until some of the salt begins to dissolve.

3. Slowly mix the flour with the salted water mixtures. Use a silicone spatula to mix more easily. It is necessary to obtain orange and green salt dough. The dough will be rather sticky. Then knead it with your hands, adding additional flour until it becomes firm but not crumbly or sticky. Shape the dough into a ball.

4. Place the ball of orange salt dough on a piece of waxed paper. Use a rolling pin to carefully flatten.

5. Roll a small piece of green dough into a cylinder. Moisten its end with water. Glue the green piece onto the flattened orange ball to form the stem of the pumpkin. Gently squeeze the green cylinder until it is the thickness of the orange section.

6. Use a pin to punch many small ventilation holes in the back of the pumpkin. Then, carefully turn the pumpkin over on a greased baking sheet. Remove the waxed paper.

7. Next, have your children leave their palm and foot prints in the dough.

8. Use a pin or knife to write the year or other information on the dough. Also drill a hanging hole.

9. Preheat the oven to 250 ° C. Bake your pumpkin ornament until its surface begins to brown slightly. Remove from the oven. The paste will continue to harden during cooling.

10. Once the pumpkin has cooled, use the paintbrush to apply a thin coat of black acrylic paint to the prints. Let dry completely.

11. Spray transparent protective sealant on your creation.

12. Hang the salt dough decoration wherever you want. Happy fall!

Create a salt dough sheet bowl - tutorial

Materials needed:

• salt dough
• large autumn leaves
• rolling pin
• knife
• big bowl
• acrylic paint
• sponge brushes
• Mod Podge sealer

How to do ?

1. In order to make this awesome project, the first thing you need to do is take a nature walk to collect leaves. The other option in front of you is to buy fake leaves from a craft store.

2. The second thing to do is prepare your salt dough. Your kids can help, of course. Find the recipe at the beginning of the article!

3. Once the dough is done, it's time to roll it out with a rolling pin. The thickness should be about 0.8 cm so that the dough is not brittle.

4. The next step is to place a large, well-veined sheet on the dough. Have the children gently rub the veins to make an impression. Then apply light pressure on the sheet with the rolling pin.

5. The next step requires cutting around the leaf. To do this, use a sharp knife and go around the leaf. The latter can then be removed to reveal the imprint and shape below.

6. Spray heat resistant glass bowl with cooking spray. Carefully lift your leaf and place it on the bowl. Put in the oven and cook at 250 ° C for 2 hours.

7. Take out of the oven and let cool on the glass bowl for about 15 minutes. Then, gently lift the bowl and place it on a cooking rack to cool completely.

8. Once dry, your fall leaf bowl can be painted with acrylic paint in fall colors. Let your loupiots soak their sponge brushes and mix the colors as they want. Remind them to color the back of the bowl too! And especially not to press too strongly against the bowl because it is a bit fragile!

9. When the paint is completely dry, apply a coat of Mod Podge sealant. The glossy finish is indeed preferable to create a glossy effect.

Use your fall leaf bowl as a decorative piece on a bookshelf. You can also put it on a coffee table and fill it with nuts, acorns and pine cones.

Find even more ideas for creative salt dough projects in our gallery!

A super cute hedgehog that your kids will love

Window decoration to make this fall from salt paste and acrylic paint

Prepare the decor for the Halloween party now

Hanging ornaments from salt dough and legume seeds - lentils, beans, peas

Ring for napkin decorated with an autumnal leaf in salt dough

Pretty pumpkin designed in the spirit of autumn

The manufacture of this pumpkin indeed involves the use of metal wire which will be used to hang the decoration. So remember to get wire cutters beforehand!

Use natural materials (anise, cloves, cinnamon stick) to embellish your decor

Stylish table decoration in the form of napkin rings

Shiny decoration with imprints of leaves, sprigs and herbs

The autumnal theme always present on these round ornaments

Nice addition to your collection of fall decorations