How to make salt dough for crafts. Modeling from dough

Testoplasty (flour-salt or bioceramic) is a fascinating type of needlework that does not require much money or special skills. Sculpting from salt dough is a pleasure. Moreover, this process will be equally interesting for both children and adults. From an incredibly plastic, malleable and absolutely safe material for creativity.

Testoplasty (flour-salt or bioceramic) is a fascinating type of needlework that does not require much money or special skills. Sculpting from salt dough is a pleasure. Moreover, this process will be equally interesting for both children and adults. From an incredibly plastic, pliable and absolutely safe material for creativity, wonderful figures are obtained.

We offer you to plunge into the world of art without leaving your apartment! And to make it easier for you to master a new activity, we have prepared useful tips and master classes.

Features of working with salt dough

The origins of this type of creativity are rooted deep in the history of our culture. The same Gingerbread Man is an excellent artistic example of a product made from salt dough.

Everyone can work with the test. Surely you have a handful of flour at home! In addition, the dough is much more plastic than gypsum and more durable than plasticine.

How to prepare dough for modeling

If you finally decided to master the process of making crafts, then it would be useful to learn how to make salt dough. We offer several options for recipes, from which you can choose any you like.

• 1 st. fine salt;
• 1 st. flour;
• 5 st. l. sunflower oil;
• water;
• colored gouache or natural juice.

Thoroughly mix the dry ingredients in a deep container, pour in the oil and a little water. In order for the dough to acquire a certain color, gently stir in juice (for example, carrot or beetroot).

• 1.5 st. flour;
• 1 st. salt;
• 125 ml of water.

Mix everything and knead the dough, as for dumplings. To sculpt thin relief figures, add one more thing to choose from: 1 tbsp. l. PVA glue, 1 tbsp. l. starch or a mixture of wallpaper glue and water.

• 2 tbsp. wheat flour;
• 1 st. salt;
• 125 ml of water;
• 1 st. l. hand cream (vegetable oil).

Combine all ingredients and mix well until smooth. You can use a blender or mixer to speed up the process. The dough is very soft and pliable.

• 1 st. flour;
• 1 st. finely ground salts;
• 125 ml of water.

This is a salt dough recipe for sculpting large items. First of all, combine the salt with flour, and then pour in a little water, kneading until an elastic mass is obtained.

• 1.5 st. flour;
• 1 st. salt;
• 4 tbsp. l. glycerin (sold in a pharmacy);
• 2 tbsp. l. wallpaper glue + 125-150 ml of water.

This dough is well suited for making delicate work. For kneading, we recommend using a mixer - it makes the task much easier.

Essential tools for creativity

In addition to learning how to make salt dough for modeling, it is also important to prepare the necessary tools and a set of accessories:

• a small rolling pin or a bottle of water (nowhere without it!);
• board for modeling;
• knife;
• ballpoint pen (for creating holes and patterns);
• tassel;
• container with water;
• curly molds for cutting cookies;
• buttons, beads, rings, lace, etc. for making prints;
• paints.

All this will be useful to you for creative work with the test.

Basic drying methods

When the product is ready, it must be properly dried. There are several methods. Consider the most popular of them.

Method 1 - In the oven (preheated)

Drying in an ajar oven at a temperature of 55-80 ° C (the craft is placed in a preheated oven). Place the product on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or in a heat-resistant bowl. The duration of the process can be about an hour or longer, depending on the size of the figurine.

Method 2 - Natural conditions

This refers to drying in the open air (but not in direct sunlight). This method takes longer than the first, but is more efficient. The product is best placed on a wooden or plastic surface. Air drying takes about 3-4 days. But we do not recommend drying on a battery - this can lead to the fact that the craft will crack and crumble.

Method 3 - In the oven (cold)

According to this method, salt dough crafts must be placed in a cold oven and only then turned on, eventually heating up to 150 ° C. In the same place, the products should cool down while the oven cools down.

Figures made from unpainted dough are attractive in themselves. However, after drying, they can be decorated with gouache, watercolor or acrylic paints. They are good because they dry quickly, do not smudge and do not leave marks on the hands.

Coloring methods:

1. Mix watercolor paints with a brush with water and apply to the product so that they do not spread.
2. Mix gouache with PVA glue, evenly cover the craft with this mixture.
3. You can give the dough a certain color even during kneading. Divide it into parts - there should be as many as how many shades you need to paint. Roll balls out of them, make a well in the middle of each and drop a couple of drops of food coloring diluted in water there. After that, knead the dough so that it is colored evenly.

Salt dough modeling also allows you to use various elements for decoration. It can be cereals, pasta, buttons, shells, beads, all kinds of threads and ribbons. The scope for imagination is unlimited!

What is varnishing for?

Finished products are varnished so that the paint does not fade and is not washed off, and the appearance of the work does not deteriorate over time. Varnishing is used if necessary and solely at the request of the author.

You can add shine to the product with varnish:

• liquid - they need to cover the product in several layers, the result is ruddy and natural;
• thick - it better protects the craft from moisture, you can use both varnish that gives a mirror shine, and matte.

It is preferable to use an aerosol varnish. A single application is enough to make the colors play brighter and the work become protected from damage.

Although, practice shows that proper drying allows you not even to resort to varnishing - the product will retain its original appearance for many years anyway.

Possible problems and solutions

Here is a list of problems that may arise when drying or decorating a toy from salt dough:

1. The dough is covered with bubbles or cracks after drying. This can be caused by the wrong choice of flour or by not following the drying rules. The most simple and inexpensive flour for modeling is suitable - low-grade rye or wheat. And the product should be dried without too much haste in a slightly preheated oven with the door ajar. In general, it is better if the craft dries naturally.
2. The product cracked after painting. This can happen if you started painting an insufficiently dried craft. Dry it in the fresh air, smooth out the roughness with sandpaper and repaint.
3. The product cracked due to the large thickness. In this case, excess dough must be removed from the back or bottom. And in order for a large product to dry evenly in the oven, it must be periodically turned over.
4. An element broke off. You can try to glue it with PVA glue, but it's better to just smooth out the bumps and decorate with some kind of decoration.
5. The piece has faded after painting. An additional coating of varnish can restore the color to its former saturation and make the craft brighter.

Salt dough crafts

According to some assumptions, the first stucco dough began to be used by culinary specialists to decorate pastries. Today, anything can be sculpted from such a wonderful material: paintings, souvenir figurines, and toys.

So, when you already know how to make salt dough, let's start creating, in fact, crafts from it.

2015 is the year of the wooden sheep, so the most relevant souvenir is the salt dough sheep. We offer you MK for the manufacture of such a figure.

Do you want something interesting?

You will need:

• fine table salt;
• Wheat flour;
• cold water;
• foil;
• tassel;
• white;
• gouache;
• black marker.

Step-by-step sequence of actions:

1. Combine flour and fine salt in equal proportions, add a little water.
2. Knead the elastic dough and send it to chill in the refrigerator for two hours.
3. After this time, you can start sculpting. We make 4 balls from salt dough. These will be the paws of the sheep. Place them as shown in the picture.
4. Roll up a piece of foil and place it on the dough. Then you need to roll a ball out of the cake - this is the body of a lamb, it must be laid on top of the paws.
5. Now, from pieces of dough, blind the head, horns, curls, ears and eyes.
6. To get something like curly sheep's wool, roll up a lot of small balls and evenly place them on the back of our animal.
7. The preparation is ready. It remains to place it in the oven, preheated to the minimum temperature. The sheep should dry thoroughly without cracking. At a temperature of 50 ° C, it will take about 3 hours to dry and up to half an hour to cool.
8. Then cover the entire surface of the figurine with white. Wait until they are completely dry.
9. Color the sheep with gouache. And with the help of a permanent marker, you can draw eyelashes, a mouth, circle the horns and other details as desired.
10. Finish off by varnishing the sheep. Varnish will add shine and smoothness to it, giving the craft a finished look.

Testoplasty allows you to create not only small voluminous souvenirs, but also whole paintings from salt dough. Of course, their creation will require some skills, patience and perseverance. However, the result is able to exceed all expectations, becoming a wonderful gift for loved ones or decorating the interior of your home.

We act in stages:

1. Creating a picture, like any other dough crafts, begins with the preparation, in fact, of the dough. There are many different variations of recipes, but the most popular is this: 1 tbsp. finely ground salt, 2 tbsp. flour, 200 ml of water. Knead the elastic salt dough for crafts, pack it in a plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
2. Take out the finished material and you can start creating by pinching off a piece of dough from the bag (it quickly becomes covered with a crust in the air).
3. To connect the parts together, do not use glue, but water.
4. It is most convenient to create a picture on foil. It is necessary to dry the result: in the oven or in the air.
5. When the craft dries, paint it with gouache and cover with two layers of varnish.
6. Finally, attach the picture to the canvas or any other framed fabric.

All kinds of cats, birds, snowmen, bears, dachshunds, flowers and much more look very beautiful. You can create pictures based on the plot of a fairy tale - this will be especially interesting for children. You can see some examples of work for inspiration in the pictures.

Symbolic figurines-flour-salt

Salt dough is a great alternative to clay. And crafts from it can become a unique decoration for your home or an original gift idea. It has long been believed that flour salt in the house is a symbol of prosperity and family well-being.

Regardless of what kind of figures you plan to make, the dough for them can be prepared according to one of the recipes above.

1. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it is 0.5 cm thick.
2. On this sheet, make prints of any cookie cutters. These are future figurines made from salt dough.
3. Turn on the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. Using a wooden spatula, or just use your hands, transfer the figures to a baking sheet.
5. With a cocktail tube or a toothpick, make a hole in each of the figures so that you can then thread a thread through it and hang the figures, say, on a Christmas tree (well, or hang them around the house).
6. Bake in the oven at the lowest temperature for several hours.
7. Lay them out on a flat surface and let cool.
8. Color the toys however you like.

Here are a few more examples of flour salts that are easy to make and look amazing!

1. Each recipe for salt dough for crafts involves the use of exclusively wheat or rye flour (but definitely not pancake) and finely ground salt (not iodized, since the dough will turn out to be not homogeneous, but with large inclusions).
2. Mixing water must be very cold. Add it in portions, diligently kneading the dough. Depending on the flour you choose, you may need different amounts of water.
3. The dough should not stick to your hands or crumble. If it does not stick well, add a little water, and if it sticks, add a little flour.
4. Salt dough keeps well in the refrigerator in a plastic bag or in a container with a tight-fitting lid. Use it piece by piece as needed, because the finished dough in the air quickly becomes covered with a dry crust, which spoils the appearance of the products. Expiration date of the test is 1 week.
5. Crafts from small elements look more elegant. To make the parts stick well to each other, moisten the joints with water using a brush.
6. To color the dough itself, add a little food coloring diluted in water (for Easter eggs). From the dough of different colors, you can create new shades: for this, just knead the multi-colored pieces with your fingers.

Testoplasty is not just children's fun, but also a corrective activity that allows you to develop fine motor skills of the hands, perseverance and imagination of kids, cultivating aesthetic taste. And for adults, this is a great way of self-expression and recuperation. We wish you inspiration, and let creativity be only a joy!

Modeling using soft and elastic materials is one of the varieties of creative leisure for children. It is more convenient to replace expensive purchased plasticine with a budget option - salt dough for modeling. There are many recipes, following which it is easy to prepare a plastic mass and create real masterpieces from it.

Mental development	Regular modeling exercises have a positive effect on the mental and emotional state of the child. Such creative pastime activates the activity of both cerebral hemispheres. Perseverance, patience, accuracy appear, the skill is fixed to bring the work begun to completion. Imagination also develops when the child himself comes up with crafts and recreates them.
Fine motor skills, logic	In the process of making figurines and parts from plastic material, fine motor skills develop - this makes a significant contribution to the formation of abstract thinking, good memory, and the ability to think logically.
Perception of the environment	Young children, working with plastic materials, begin to learn colors and shapes. Visual perception of surrounding objects develops, aesthetic taste is born.
Emotional stability	During modeling, the emotional state is leveled, which is especially important for children with a highly excitable nervous system. Increased mobility, activity and irritability are temporarily reduced. Internal fears and contradictions are not kept inside, but find a way out through creative activity.

Why is it better to use salt dough for modeling?

One of the advantages of salt dough is naturalness. The self-made elastic mass is harmless even for children under 2 years old- it does not provoke the occurrence of allergic reactions, does not repel an unnatural smell. Dough with the addition of salt is more pliable, softer than ordinary plasticine - it will be easier for children's hands to create the intended details.

When the product is molded and dried, it is given a decorative effect using varnish and paints.

Easy DIY Salt Dough Recipes

Salt dough (a recipe for modeling for children is given below) is easy to prepare and does not require expensive components. The classic recipe is convenient because the necessary ingredients can always be found at home.

Based on creative preferences, traditional ingredients combine:

• with edible paints;
• glycerin;
• soda;
• wallpaper glue;
• vitamin B group;
• natural flavors;
• essential oils.

After that, the eco-friendly material acquires unique features.

Classic recipe

There are no additional components in the test according to the classic recipe, which is why small children are allowed to work with such material. Traditional cooking involves the use of wheat flour, salt without additives (the finer, the better it dissolves), warm or cool water.

Salt dough: a recipe for modeling for children is simple and includes absolutely harmless ingredients

Salt (1 cup), flour (2 cups) are poured into a deep bowl. Slowly add water (¾ cup). The dough is kneaded so that it becomes homogeneous, not sticky to the hands. It is allowed to add oil (any vegetable) - 1 tbsp. least.

Salt dough in the microwave

A non-standard way to create plastic dough is in the microwave. The main ingredients are: water and flour (half a glass of each component), salt (1/4 cup). Additional additives that are attached to the main ones: 1 tsp each. vegetable oil and tartar.

Those who want to get a dough painted in a certain color can add safe food coloring to the mixture. From the listed components, a mass is prepared, which is laid out in a microwave-safe dish. Set the average power for 5 minutes. the mixture is in the oven. Then it is cooled and kneaded by hand.

Coarse salt dough

A dough in which fine salt is replaced by coarse salt is a variation of the traditional recipe. This weight is suitable for children under 2 years old. Coarse salt (300 g) and a glass of water are combined in a container. Mix well to dissolve the salt crystals.

Flour in the amount of 300 g is poured into the salt solution gradually.

With PVA glue

Sometimes PVA glue is present in the salt dough - it is included in the usual composition in order to increase the strength of future products (small children should not work with such a test). A glass of flour is mixed with a glass of salt. In 120-130 g of water, glue is diluted (1 tablespoon).

This liquid is slowly poured into a container with dry ingredients. Knead the dough for a long time - until the moment when it stops sticking to your hands. The mass should become homogeneous. The finished lump is covered with a cloth and for 15 minutes. put in the refrigerator, after which you can start sculpting.

With added starch

There are ways to make dough from starch. Starch is a substitute for flour, and soda acts as a substitute for salt. 2 cups of soda are combined with a glass of starch, stirring. Slowly pour in half a glass of water, continuing to mix the components. The mixture begins to slowly heat up on the stove. The dough should turn into a ball. It is cooled and kneaded by hand until tender.

The recipe uses potato starch, but you can replace it with corn starch.

With food coloring

Salt dough dyed in bright colors with food coloring is especially fun for children and allows you to skip the dyeing step of the finished product. While mixing the ingredients, you can add food coloring. Or you can pour it into the finished dough, then knead the lump thoroughly so that the paint is evenly distributed.

As one of the options for staining brown, use cocoa powder and instant coffee (they are diluted in water).

Dough with rye flour

The recipe for modeling for children has other variations - for example, salty dough, to which rye flour is added. It must be mixed with wheat flour, otherwise the material will be naughty due to its hardness. Products made from rye flour have a characteristic brown tint.

A glass of salt is diluted in ¾ cups of water, wheat (one and a half cups) and rye (half a cup) flour is added. Knead the mass with your hands.

glowing dough

Salt Dough (Kids ages 2+) can glow when exposed to an ultraviolet lamp. The glowing effect is due to the presence of vitamin B. The main ingredients will be: a glass of flour and ¾ cup of salt. Additional components: cream of tartar (2 tsp), vegetable oil (1 tbsp). In the absence of cream of tartar on hand, it is advised to take apple cider vinegar.

An important component - vitamin B - is easy to purchase at a pharmacy. For the test, 2 tablets or 1 ampoule are enough.

Flour and powdered tablets are poured into the pan (or liquid vitamin is poured). Salt with tartar is also sent there. Add water, vegetable oil. The resulting mixture is put on a minimum fire. As a result of heating, a lump should form, it is taken out and cooled. Mix until ready by hand.

Analogue of Play-Doh plasticine

Play-Doh is a bright and beautiful plasticine that has long been loved by children. But it is considered an expensive material for creativity. A plastic multi-colored mass with similar characteristics is created on their own at home. Salt dough (a modeling recipe for older children who will not taste the material) - as an analogue of imported plasticine - is colored when kneading.

It is convenient to cook several pieces of different colors at once.

In a saucepan, combine half a glass of salt, 2 tsp. citric acid, 1 cup flour. Add 1 tbsp to the mixed dry mixture. sunflower oil and 1 tsp. glycerin. The dishes are slowly heated on the stove. To dilute food paint, take half a glass of water, pour the colored solution into the future dough. The mass is stirred without stopping - it will gradually acquire density and uniformity.

The result should be com. The mass is removed from the dishes, laid out on the table, where it is mixed to the desired state.

How to store the finished dough?

Prolonged exposure to air is bad for salt dough. The plastic mass begins to dry out and become covered with a crust, which leads to the loss of its properties. Therefore, the material remaining after creative manipulations is placed in the refrigerator - wrapped in plastic wrap or placed in a container with a tight lid.

Master classes of easy crafts for children

The options for creative work from salt dough are endless. They are chosen, focusing on the skills of the child, his age. Most crafts are based on sausages and balls. A child, starting to learn how to sculpt, tries to recreate these details. And over time, he gets better and better.

After mastering the techniques of rolling soft material into balls, sausages and flattening parts, they move on to making simple crafts.

Video tutorial on sculpting a turtle:

Examples of simple crafts:

• fungus;
• hedgehog;
• caterpillar;
• flat muzzles of animals;
• flowers.

Fungus

For the fungus, you need to sculpt a hat and a leg. For a hat, a ball is rolled up and crushed on one side. For the leg, roll out a small sausage, thickening it from the bottom side. The hat and leg are attached to each other. To prevent the fungus from falling apart, you can fasten the parts with a toothpick. The craft is painted, making sure that it is completely dry.

You can complicate the task a little and make a large fungus with hands, a voluminous hat and a drawn face.

Christmas decorations

The dough is rolled out on the table, turning it into a smooth layer. Shapes are cut with cookie cutters. In these Christmas tree decorations, a small round hole is made. Crafts are dried, then painted. A ribbon or thread is threaded through the hole.

Rose

Salt dough roses are molded in many ways. Beautiful flowers are obtained from already dyed material, but you can get by with a colorless test.

How to make a rose:

1. First, a small cone is formed - it serves as the base on which the petals are fixed. Pinch off pieces of dough and roll them into balls. Then the balls are flattened so that each of them is shaped like a petal. The petals are attached in a circle to the cone - you should get a bud. The outer petals are made a little differently: they are also rolled out, made flat, but the edges on the upper side are slightly bent outward.
2. In the second way, you can create many miniature roses and make them part of an artistic composition, combining them with leaves or other flowers. To fashion several small roses, balls of the same size are rolled from the dough. Each ball is turned into an even sausage, which should be of the same thickness along its entire length. The sausage is flattened - it resembles a strip. The strips begin to roll neatly into rolls. The bottom of the roll will be narrowed, and the top will be expanded (forming petals).

Puzzles

Make a large cardboard stencil. It can be an animal, a car, an airplane. The dough is rolled out on a flat surface, a stencil is placed on top and a figure is cut out along the contour. The dough blank is left to dry (8-10 hours). Then it is cut into pieces with a knife. Before painting, the cut fragments must dry completely.

After painting, the homemade toy is varnished to prolong its service life.

Drying salt dough at home

Particular attention is paid to the drying of molded crafts.

From the existing methods, everyone will choose the one that is convenient for him:

• in the oven;
• on the balcony, in a warm room with active air circulation, in the country;
• on the heating device.

Immediately after manufacturing, the product is not sent to the oven - it is kept for 2 days in the air. Before drying, the oven is heated to 50 ° C. Lay a sheet of foil on a baking sheet. Crafts are placed on top. Before laying out, lightly sprinkle the foil with flour.

Dough figures will dry for 3 hours at the original oven temperature.

The temperature can be raised gradually up to 140 °C. Under such conditions, the dough will take about 40-50 minutes to dry. But keep in mind that products with voluminous and thick parts will take longer to dry to the end.

Rapid drying with increased temperature may cause cracks on the surface of the dough.. Therefore, it is better to choose a gradual and unhurried drying. Crafts are taken out of the oven after cooling. The easiest, most natural and time-consuming method of drying is in the fresh air or in an apartment on the windowsill.

The product dries faster in the summer with warm sunny weather. But you do not need to place it directly under the hot rays of the sun. A well-lit and warm place is suitable, as well as a smooth surface so that the crafts do not deform. Another way is drying on a battery- used during cold seasons.

The finished product is simply not put on a hot battery. First, prepare a flat surface, cover it with foil, spread the dough on top. The resulting design is placed on a heating radiator. A completely dry craft makes a ringing sound when tapped.

A product that is damp inside will sound muffled.

Do I need to varnish crafts?

On the created and dried crafts, varnish can be applied. Painted and colorless dough creations are covered with a varnish layer. It protects the figurines from moisture and prolongs their life. For varnishing, you can purchase an aerosol - the varnish is sprayed in one or several layers.

Before applying a new layer, the previous layer is thoroughly dried.

On sale there are varnishes with the addition of decorative elements - they will give the crafts originality. The use of nail polish is allowed. Salt dough (a recipe for modeling for children is not suitable) is able to shine even without lacquer spraying - the gloss effect is caused by the presence of glycerin in the composition of the material.

The dough, which will contain glycerin, begins to be prepared by mixing a glass of salt, undiluted wallpaper glue (2 tablespoons) and flour (1.5 cups). 2 tablespoons are added to the resulting dry mixture. glycerin. Water is added little by little (it will take about half a glass), creating an elastic lump.

If the dough was prepared without the addition of dyes, the figures can be covered with acrylic paints or gouache.

Young children can color their own crafts using felt-tip pens or markers with indelible ink. Watercolor paints are not very suitable, but if they are available, paint with them: slightly moisten the brush and thickly coat it with paint.

Gouache is suitable for coloring products and for dough. They put it in the dough and knead the lump with their hands so that the paint is distributed.

Homemade salt dough for modeling does not lose popularity. By experimenting with the main and auxiliary ingredients, you can choose a recipe for creating a plastic material that is suitable for children of any age.

Article formatting: E. Chaikina

Useful video clip about salt dough for modeling

A simple video recipe for self-preparation of dough for creative activities with children:

If you don't know how to make DIY salt dough and are looking for ideas for your little one or for your own crafts, this article lists a lot of interesting recipes.

Salt dough modeling is interesting for both children and adults. The advantages of salt dough are obvious:

• safe for the baby, because the ingredients are natural;
• easy to make yourself at home at any time;
• does not leave marks on clothes, hands and furniture, can be easily washed;
• the baby, having tasted it once, will stop pulling it into his mouth;
• has a good texture, is remarkably molded, more plastic than the highest quality store plasticine, does not stick to the palms;
• this material does not need special storage conditions;
• can be painted in any way, decorate and paint, varnish to preserve the appearance of the product;
• it can be dried in the air and in;
• the finished product can serve as a toy or a souvenir, without losing its shape and aesthetic appearance during a variety of fun;
• its cost is lower than that of plasticine.

The disadvantage of salt dough is insufficient plasticity. It is problematic to make a doll or an elegant product with small details from this material without proper preparation. Although craftsmen are known who are capable of this. However, even a beginner can make a beautiful magnet as a gift or a Christmas decoration for a Christmas tree or home.

Salt dough in 5 minutes

The dough prepared according to the recipe below is suitable for everyone who loves modeling and can be stored for several months in the refrigerator.

Ingredients:

• 1 glass of water;
• 1 glass of flour;
• a third of a glass of salt;
• 2 teaspoons of soda;
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil;
• food coloring.

The process of preparing the dough in 5 minutes consists of 5 stages.

1. It is necessary to pour flour, soda and salt into the pan, pour in water and sunflower oil, mix the mixture well.
2. Put the container on the stove and heat over low heat for several minutes.
3. Add food coloring and stir.
4. When the dough sticks to the metal spoon, it is ready.
5. Put the mass on a plate, cool and knead with your hands.

Easy no-boil salt dough recipe

How to cook salt dough for crafts without cooking? There is a wonderful recipe that is not at all difficult to implement. Mix three quarters of a glass of salt with a glass of flour, five tablespoons of sunflower oil, add water heated to 40-50 degrees Celsius.

If you want to make the dough more plastic for the most fragile figures, use starch jelly instead of water.

From flour and salt

For such a test, you need to take a glass of three-quarters filled flour and Extra salt, mix the mixture in a bowl. It should be poured with half a glass of pre-chilled water until a stiff dough is obtained, continuously stirring the mass to achieve uniformity.

Voila, the dough is ready, let's get creative!

With PVA glue

Pour a glass of extra salt and flour into a bowl. Pour 1 tablespoon of PVA into 100-150 milliliters of water. Pour this liquid with a white tint little by little to a mixture of flour and salt, kneading the dough.

It can be used immediately for crafts or sent to the refrigerator for storage.

With glycerin

How to make salt dough for crafts with glycerin? It contains glue, which helps the mixture to set and dry faster, but it is not suitable for babies.

Mix 1.5 cups of flour with the same amount of water, a glass of fine salt and a fifth of a glass of glycerin. The consistency of the dough should be like dumplings. Then pour in 5 teaspoons of water-diluted gluing glue, or PVA. The mass should be thoroughly mixed.

Without flour

To make play dough for kids, you can choose a recipe without flour (a paradox, but a fact, it is possible!). In this case, you need to take 2 cups of soda, a bag of food coloring and a glass of starch. Then you should add half a glass of water, stirring constantly, simmer the mixture over low heat until a ball forms. Cool the mass and use it for crafts.

The simplest crafts from salt dough

Puzzles

To make them, you need to roll out a thin layer of salty dough, then apply the contours of the future puzzle with a toothpick, paint with gouache. Then you need to cut it into pieces with a knife or a stack and dry it.

beads

We sculpt balls from salt dough prepared according to one of the above recipes, trying to make them the same size (for example, 3 centimeters in diameter), and then string them on wire or twine after staining with gouache or acrylic and the paint dries.

You can flatten them out a little. You can color the beads in 5 pcs. one color or apply an ornament. After coating the beads with acrylic varnish, the product will become stronger and acquire a more aesthetic appearance.

Do not allow the child to play with the beads himself, only if he is supervised so that he does not accidentally swallow them.

Beads are ready, you can try on!

mushrooms

First, we make a sausage-shaped leg from salt dough, then we make a mushroom cap. You can use the lid, sprinkling it with flour, so that it is convenient to remove it. It should be noted that during drying the dough will settle a little, therefore it is better to make a hat a little larger.

Ready mushrooms can be laid out on a baking sheet, which is pre-lined with foil, and put in the oven (at temperatures up to 100 degrees Celsius) to dry. Turn the mushrooms from time to time until the products harden.

Then the coloring stage follows: you can, for example, paint the bottom of the hat, and then the leg with acrylic paint or gouache (mixed with PVA) in white, and the top of the hat with light brown, dark gray or dark red paint.

When the product dries, glue the hats to the legs using Moment glue. When the mushrooms dry on the balcony, veranda or loggia, they are ready for use in the game.

Roses

From the dough prepared according to one of the recipes, we squeeze the circles using a glass or cup from a set of toy dishes. These are rose petals. Let's form the center of the flower with our hands. Then alternately add 1 petal to the middle.

When you collect all the petals together, leave the rose to dry for a day in a dry room (not on the battery, to avoid cracking). The cup can be used as a stand. After drying, you can color the flower by applying gouache of different shades of red to the petals, starting with crimson.

Christmas decorations

Using a cocktail tube, you can make holes in the dough for an openwork pattern.

You can decorate salt dough Christmas tree toys with beads. Please note that when using plastic beads, drying the product in the oven is not suitable, otherwise they will melt.

Instead of beads, you can take shells, pebbles from the bottom of the sea, cereals, buttons, even ... fragments from broken pottery will do. Ribbons and floss will also be used to decorate crafts.

The household does not have the necessary mold for sculpting a figure of a suitable size? Take a cardboard stencil for cutting salt dough for a Christmas tree decoration.

The finished product can be decorated with sparkles, after applying glue to them.

You can stick a picture from a napkin or a sticker on a craft. Use PVA diluted 1 to 1 with water. Cut out the pattern from the napkin, remove the topmost layer and stick it on the dough product. On top of the picture you need to apply another 1 layer of PVA.

A very original way of decorating products made from salt dough is prints with various objects that have an interesting texture that will be at hand. For this purpose, molds for baking, for plasticine, for ice, children's dishes, from a toy set for a sandbox, etc. are suitable. It is also interesting to sculpt by hand!

For decoration, it is recommended to prepare acrylic paints of different colors or pearlescent paints, gouache mixed with PVA, sequins, acrylic varnish, stained glass contours, gold and silver glitters, ribbon, braid, twine, cotton and acrylic threads, "iris", sequins, lace , rhinestones, etc.

How and with what to paint crafts?

Would you like to color your salt dough in different colors? To make crafts with preschoolers from 3 years old, you can use gouache and diluted watercolor, coloring the crafts on top or adding it when preparing the dough. For modeling with kids, it is better to use freshly squeezed juice of carrots, beets and even ... brewed coffee.

You can divide the dough into as many parts as you have dyes, make a hole in each ball, put juice into it and knead the dough for even coloring. A wonderful option “for advanced” is mixing gouache with PVA to evenly cover the product.

Drying methods for finished products

In a preheated oven

You can dry the finished product in an ajar oven, after setting the temperature from 55 to 80 degrees Celsius. Put it in a preheated oven on a baking sheet lined with parchment, or place it in a heat-resistant glass container. Drying time - from 1 hour or more, depending on the size of the craft.

Outdoors

You can air-dry the finished craft by laying it on a plastic or wood surface, out of direct sunlight. It will take more time, but is more effective. Such drying will take approximately 3-4 days.

In a cold oven

Put the craft in a cold oven and only then turn it on, setting the temperature to 150 degrees Celsius. Products must cool in the oven.

1. If the dough, after drying, turned out to be covered with bubbles, cracks, most likely you chose the wrong type of flour or did not follow the drying rules. It is better to choose the cheapest flour for salt dough - from rye or wheat of the 2nd grade. We recommend drying the product next time without haste in an oven heated to 60-80 degrees, while opening the door or placing the tray on the balcony.
2. Are there cracks after painting? This is possible if you started painting a poorly dried product. Air dry them, touch up the roughness with sandpaper, and then paint a second time.
3. Is the product cracked? This was probably due to its great thickness. In this case, you should fix this by removing excess salt dough from the back or at the bottom of the craft. To dry the product evenly in the oven, it should be turned over from time to time.
4. Did the element break off? Try to glue it with PVA or make up for the oversight by attaching a decoration.
5. Has there been any fading after coloring? By covering the product with acrylic varnish, you can restore saturation and brightness to the colors.

Conclusion

Salt dough modeling is suitable both for classes with children and for the creativity of adults. Both of them can create masterpieces that will be decorations for any home or wonderful gifts for the holidays.

Want to help discover the talent of someone close to you? Share this helpful article with your friends!

Mother of two children. I have been running a household for more than 7 years - this is my main job. I like to experiment, I constantly try various means, methods, techniques that can make our life easier, more modern, richer. I love my family.

Mothers who pay a lot of attention to the development of a child often ask themselves the question: how to make salt dough for modeling? And the point here is not only that sculpting is useful. Do-it-yourself dough turns out to be completely safe, cheap and at the same time it is not nearly inferior to the purchased one. In addition, you can make it at any time when there is a mood to sculpt. It is prepared quickly from ingredients that are in every home.

Why sculpt with kids?

Salt dough modeling is an exciting activity for the whole family. Making figurines with your own hands is interesting for children of any age. You can already do modeling with one and a half year old kids, this activity will also appeal to preschoolers and younger students. Yes, and many adults will be pleased to remember their childhood and blind, for example, fly agaric or hippo.



In addition to the fact that modeling from salt dough is interesting for children, it is also a useful activity. She develops:

• fine motor skills of the hands, which, in turn, stimulates early speech development;
• spatial thinking;
• creative thinking;
• color thinking;
• cognitive activity;
• Attention;
• memory;
• perseverance:
• movement coordination.

Modeling from dough at home gives the concept of colors, shapes, sizes, has a positive effect on the emotional state of children and, in general, has a beneficial effect on the development of the nervous system. Therefore, this lesson is recommended for hyperactive kids.



For preschoolers and younger students, creating crafts from salt dough helps to acquire useful skills, such as:

• diligence;
• accuracy;
• the ability to fantasize;
• the ability to think and analyze independently;
• copying parts from a template;
• purposefulness.

For modeling to turn into a full-fledged educational activity, it is not enough for parents to know the recipe for salt dough and cook it, and then watch the process from a distance. You need to deal with children: show, tell, guide, encourage. However, one should not demand too much from children at once, and one should not impose one's opinion on diverse issues on them.

How to cook salt dough?

To prepare salt dough at home, there is more than one recipe and several methods of kneading. To the classic ingredients - water, salt and flour - add starch, wallpaper paste, glitter, flavors. You can experiment if the modeling mass is prepared for children over 3 years old. Various additives improve its properties and the quality of finished crafts. However, for children of one and a half years it is better to cook the most common salt dough. To make it more interesting for kids to sculpt, you can add natural dyes to it.
To get colored salty dough, you need to add dye to the water before kneading or color it already ready. It is convenient to add dye to water in advance when a lot of mass of the same color is required. And if you need several small-sized balls of multi-colored dough, then it is better to add dye to the already prepared mass for modeling. As part of the test, which is prepared for children, you can use food colors or natural coloring agents (cocoa, beetroot and carrot juice, turmeric, etc.)

There are two ways to knead the dough:

1. mix salt with flour and gradually add water;
2. Dissolve salt in water and add flour.

The first method is used when the recipe contains an approximate amount of ingredients in shares. With this method, it is constantly necessary to control the density of the kneaded mass. And if you accidentally pour water, you will have to add a mixture of flour and salt again. This may take a long time.

You need to use the second method if the recipe contains the exact amount of ingredients by weight. It is enough to measure the required amount of flour, salt and water using a kitchen scale and knead the dough. Below will be given weight norms for all the necessary ingredients, from which a plastic mass for modeling is quickly prepared. It is easy and pleasant to sculpt from it - it does not stick to the hands and it turns out very similar to the store.

Recipe

To quickly prepare salt dough, you can use the following recipe. You will need:

• 150 g of premium wheat flour;
• 150 g non-iodized table salt "Extra", that is, fine grinding (you can grind ordinary salt in a coffee grinder);
• 100 g of cold water.

Please note: flour and salt are taken in equal masses, but their volumes are not equal!

To color the finished salty mass, you will need natural dyes:

• 3 tsp turmeric for yellow;
• 3 tsp cocoa for brown;
• 3 tsp raw beetroot juice for pink;
• 1.5 tsp salt (as a thickener for beetroot juice);
• 2.5 tsp flour (as a thickener for beetroot juice).

Proceed according to the following algorithm.

1. Weigh the required amount of ingredients.
   
   
   
2. Dissolve the salt in the water as much as possible. Such a quantity will not completely disperse.
   
   
   
3. Pour flour by weight into salt water, as indicated in the recipe.
4. Stir the flour with a wooden spoon, breaking up the lumps.
   
   
   
5. When the flour dissolves in salt water, knead the dough on the table. The result should be a plastic mass that does not stick to your hands. It is similar in texture to store-bought play dough.
   
   
   
6. Now let's start creating a color dough with our own hands. Divide the finished salt mass for modeling into 4 parts. One of them will remain white, and we will color the other three in brown, pink and yellow.
   
   
   
7. To get a pink color, peel the beets and grate with small cells. Squeeze out the juice. Mix 3 tsp. juice from 1.5 tsp. salt and 2.5 tsp. flour. You should get a thick mass of bright pink color.
   
   
   
8. Flatten the ball of dough and put pink dye in the middle of it. Gather the edges so that the dye is inside. Roll the ball between your palms, flattening it slightly. The paint from the inside should disperse. Hands can get dirty with this method of coloring. Wear gloves to protect them.
   
   
   
9. Knead and roll the ball between your palms until it is evenly colored. While the rest of the dough is being colored, put the pink ball in a plastic box with a tightly screwed lid so that the surface does not wind up and crust over.
   
   
   
10. To get a yellow color, add 5 tsp to turmeric. water. You should get a thick coloring mass. And to get a brown dye, mix cocoa with 4 tsp. water. Color 2 balloons brown and yellow in the same way as you did with pink dye. DIY colored salt dough is ready. Sculpt for health!

Storage conditions

The recipe for salt dough is quite simple and does not take much time to prepare, so it is not made for future use. There is another reason - the mass quickly winds up and becomes covered with a crust. Sculpting from it becomes impossible. But if the dough still remains after sculpting, it should be put in a plastic container with a tightly closed lid or in a plastic bag and put in the refrigerator.

It is convenient to store colored dough in separate jars: for each color - its own. The main thing is that the lids close tightly. The jars remaining from under the purchased mass are perfect. In the refrigerator, properly packaged salt dough can last an average of about 10 days.

It is undesirable to leave the mass for modeling in the air for a long time during the creation of crafts. Let the dough be in a resealable container on the table. You should take a piece of the size that is currently needed. This is not a whim, but a recipe for storage. Also, this condition will allow you to maintain order in the workplace.

Crafting with colorful salt dough is a wonderful activity to help your child develop as they play. This is not boring exercises and tedious tasks, but a magical colorful fairy tale that every adult can tell to their child. Moreover, he now knows the recipe for modeling mass.

Anton Smekhov

Reading time: 7 minutes

A A

Modeling dough is a mass that resembles plasticine, but is softer, does not stick, does not stain, does not have a strong odor and does not cause allergies. How to make salt dough for modeling at home? The best homemade dough is made from salt, flour and cold water.

Working with plastic mass is incredibly exciting and useful in terms of developing fine motor skills. This contributes to the activation of the points of the brain responsible for the coordination of movements, objective actions and speech. And this is not all the advantages of modeling dough, it is:

• Increases perseverance.
• Develops logic and creative thinking.
• Improves concentration and perception.
• Develops the ability to work with small objects and helps in mastering the intricacies of manipulation.

Every mother can make a useful mass, because the technique is not much different from making dough for dumplings. In the article I will consider the most popular recipes. I will start with the classics, and later I will switch to more complex options.

Classic Salt Dough Recipe

I offer a classic recipe for salt dough for modeling, which involves the use of the simplest ingredients that are present in every kitchen. It is incredibly popular among experienced craftsmen, people with little experience and beginners.

Ingredients:

• Flour - 300 g.
• Salt - 300 g.
• Water - 200 ml.

Cooking:

1. Pour salt into a deep container, add some water. I advise you not to use all the liquid at once, because in each case the moisture content of the flour is different.
2. After the salt dissolves, add the sifted flour. Mix in a bowl first. After the formation of a lump, transfer the mass to the work surface and complete the process. To increase plasticity, gradually add water.
3. Place the finished dough in a plastic bag and refrigerate. After two or three hours, the salty mass is ready for work.

Video recipe

From these proportions, quite a lot of salt dough is obtained. If large crafts are not planned, cut the number of ingredients by half or four. If the mass remains, store it in a film in the refrigerator, just like the slime mass is stored. In this form, it retains its original qualities for a month.

How to make dough in 5 minutes

If salt dough crafts have become a family hobby, I recommend arming yourself with a recipe thanks to which you will make another portion of the elastic mass at home in 5 minutes.

Ingredients:

• Flour - 1 cup.
• Water - 1 cup.
• Soda - 2 teaspoons.
• Salt - 0.3 cups.
• Vegetable oil - 1 teaspoon.
• Food coloring.

Cooking:

1. Pour a mixture of salt, soda and flour into a small saucepan, pour in water along with vegetable oil. Put the container on a small fire and heat for several minutes, stirring regularly. Add dye and stir.
2. Watch the density of the dough. If it sticks to the spoon, it's done. Put the mass on a plate to cool. After that, knead thoroughly with your hands.
3. Store your salt dough in a bag or food container or it will dry out. If the mass has dried up, do not be discouraged. Add some water and mash.

Videos cooking

Quick salt dough has another advantage - a long shelf life. Subject to all the rules, the dough retains its properties for several months. With this material, you will not be bored.

Recipe without starch with glycerin

Some craftsmen cover the surface with a layer of varnish to give the crafts shine. But such a result can be achieved without the help of paints and varnishes, because there is glycerin, which is sold in all pharmacies.

Ingredients:

1. Boiling water - 2 cups.
2. Flour - 400 g.
3. Glycerin - 0.5 teaspoon.
4. Sunflower oil - 2 tablespoons.
5. Tartar - 2 tablespoons.
6. Fine salt - 100 g.
7. Dye.

Cooking:

1. Make a base. In a small container, combine cream of tartar, vegetable oil, salt and flour.
2. Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour in the flour base, add the dye and glycerin. Cook until the mass acquires a homogeneous consistency.
3. Cool the resulting composition and knead thoroughly. Add flour if necessary.

Having made a figure from dough without starch, you will see that it has a pleasant sheen. This craft will be a wonderful gift for mom on March 8 or a friend for her birthday.

How to make dough for modeling without flour

The highlight of this plastic mass is the absence of flour in the composition. The technology for making salt dough for modeling is suitable for craftsmen who do not like working with a white, quick-tempered ingredient.

Ingredients:

• Starch - 1 cup.
• Baking soda - 2 cups.
• Water - 0.5 cups.
• Natural food coloring.

Cooking:

1. In a deep bowl, mix cornstarch with baking soda. While stirring the mixture, pour in the water in a stream.
2. Put the container with the ingredients on a small fire and cook until a ball forms.
3. Place the cooled mixture on a floured surface and knead. The dough is ready.

There is no flour in this dough, but it is great for modeling. Use this easy-to-make plastic material to create a variety of shapes that will show off your talent to those around you.

What can be done from salt dough - examples of crafts

We examined the technology for preparing salt dough for modeling. It's time to put the salty stuff to work. If you are a beginner, I recommend starting with the simplest figures. Over time, having gained precious experience, switch to more complex crafts.

Experienced craftsmen make various figures and compositions from salt dough. The result depends only on the imagination. In this part of the article I will give some good examples with step-by-step instructions for making. They will help to learn the basics even for children.

mushroom

1. To create a hat, roll a small ball and lightly press on one side.
2. Make a sausage. When rolling, press down on one side a little. Get a leg.
3. It remains to collect the figurine. To increase reliability, use a toothpick.
4. After the dough has dried, decorate the mushroom as you wish.

beads

• Roll the dough into several dozen equal-sized and even balls. Put the balls on the toothpicks.
• Leave the balloons outside for a few days to dry. I advise you to turn the beads several times a day.
• Carefully remove the toothpicks from the dried balls. String beads on ribbon or string. For a more beautiful product, color the beads with markers.

Christmas decorations

1. Roll out the salt dough into a sheet. Using a cardboard stencil or cookie cutter, squeeze out the shapes.
2. Use a straw for cocktails to make holes in the figurines. Dry the dough.
3. It remains to decorate the Christmas decorations and thread a beautiful ribbon through the hole.

Rose

• Make a cone out of a small amount of dough.
• Roll into a small ball and roll into a cake. Attach the fragment to the cone.
• Attach a similar element on the opposite side. Get a button.
• Roll up a few balls and make petals. Attach to the flower in a circle.
• Bend the upper edges of the petals slightly back, and press the sides.
• After the dough has dried, paint the figurine scarlet.

Puzzles

1. Make a large stencil of a figure out of cardboard, for example, a cat. Roll out the dough into a layer. Using a stencil, cut out a large figure. Leave the dough until morning to dry.
2. Cut the cat figurine into fragments with a sharp knife. Wait for complete drying.
3. Color the craft with markers or gouache. After drying, cover each piece with a layer of clear varnish.

Video examples of figurines

As you can see, salt dough is ideal for creating simple and complex shapes and compositions. And these are just a few of the ideas. With the help of imagination, you can create a variety of toys, jewelry, souvenirs and other crafts.

In conclusion, I will share the secrets of experienced craftsmen who will make working with the material more productive and the result more impressive.

To obtain the most plastic mass, the masters replace water with jelly, consisting of a tablespoon of starch and 0.5 cups of water. And to make the painted figure look brighter, before painting, cover the craft with a layer of nail polish or white enamel.

Drying has a great influence on the durability and appearance of the result. It is correct to dry the figures from salt dough in the air, but this is fraught with long time costs. The oven helps solve the problem. To do everything right, it is recommended:

• Turn on the minimum temperature.
• Slightly open the oven door.
• Put the figurine in the oven before turning it on so that it heats up gradually.
• Take out not after turning off the oven, but after cooling.
• Dry the item step by step. On one side, take an hour with a short rest.

Practice shows that the duration of drying depends on the type of salt dough, the thickness of the product, the presence of creams and oils in the dough. Crafts from classic dough dries much faster than figures from complex masses.

Testoplasty is an interesting direction of needlework, which is most popular among children. Adults also like the lesson, because it is safe and not expensive. I wish you good luck in this creative activity and I hope that the masterpieces made by yourself will fill your home with comfort and festive mood. See you!