Salt dough is fun to make as well as to model with. This happy salt dough snowman makes a lovely Christmas present or tree decoration. Left-over dough can be kept in the refrigerator for about five days.
What You Need:
- 6 tablespoons plain flour
- 3 tablespoons salt
- Mixing bowl
- 3 tablespoons water
- Pastry board
- Baking parchment
- Rolling pin
- Blunt knife
- Drinking straw
- Baking sheet
- Acrylic paint in shades of white, orange, green, red, and purple
- Medium and fine paintbrushes
- Narrow ribbon
What You Do:
- Mix the flour and the salt in the bowl. Gradually add the water until you have a firm, pliable dough. Set aside for ten minutes.
- Place the dough on the pastry board and roll a 4 cm (1½ in) wide ball for the body and a 3 cm (1¼ in) wide ball for the head. Flatten the body and head.
- Lay the body and head on baking parchment, butting them together. With the rolling pin roll a scrap of dough to a 5 mm (¼ in) thickness. Cut a rectangle about 4 x 3 cm (1½ x 1¼ in) for the hat. Press to the head.
- Roll four logs 1 cm (½ in) thick. Lay one across the hat as a brim. Lay another across the 'neck' as a scarf. Lay the other logs at angles to the scarf, touching at the top, and dent the ends for a fringe with the knife.
- Roll three small balls of dough, press one to the head as a nose, the others to the body as buttons. Make a hole at the top of the hat with the straw.
- Place the snowman on baking parchment on a baking sheet. Place in a preheated oven 250 degrees Fahrenheit, for about 6 hours, until hard. Leave to cool in the oven.
- Paint the snowman's body white. Paint the hat, scarf, nose and buttons. Add a smile and two eyes. Leave to dry then thread the ribbon through the hole and tie.
Variations:
Reindeer Decoration
Roll the dough to a 5 mm (¼ in) thickness. Stamp a reindeer with a cookie cutter. Punch a hole with a straw for hanging. Bake for about 4 hours, leave to cool and paint. Tie two bells around the reindeer's neck with silver elastic. Hang from a piece of ribbon.
Christmas Tree
Roll the dough to a 5 mm (¼ in) thickness. Stamp a tree with a cookie cutter. Punch a hole with a straw for hanging. Press small balls of dough to the tree as ornaments. Bake for about 4 hours, leave to cool and paint. Apply glitter to the ornaments. Hang from a piece of ribbon.
Reprinted with permission from "Gifts for Kids to Make" by Cheryl Owen (Hamlyn, 2006).
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