please someone give me an idiots guide to making saltdough decorations...

[leftmymistletoeatthedoor]

Ds wants to make saltdough decorations. What do I need / how do I do it? I'm a novice!

I made some using this recipe

I tried making some last year but I think I cooked them at too high a temperature because they kind of bubbled up. They were fine last year but I got them out again and they'd gone all soft and horrible!

Anyway, by following this recipe and cooking them for aaaaages at a low temp, they've turned out much better, very dry and hard. The only thing is that it gives you quite a lot of dough so maybe do half what they suggest?

I've painted with acrylic paint and will add glitter when dry.

Oh, and I used greaseproof paper when cooking to stop them sticking to the baking tray...and they've stuck to the paper instead . It actually turned out OK, they've just got a layer of paper on one side!

The recipe is half, half, whole. So half a cup of salt, half a cup of water and one cup flour . Put flour and salt in bowl, add water, form into ball and then knead until a soft dough forms. Role out and off you go.
we made some last week, they have just finshed drying on top of the boiler, imo they take a long time to dry out properly, although you can pop them in the oven on low.
Once dry decorate with paintt, glitter etc, leave to dry then varnish if want to keep them for years.

I did a tutorial on this a little while ago... hope it helps :)

Oh thanks all

We made some today and did one cup flour, one cup salt and about 3/4 cup of water. I read a great tip to use a straw to make a hole so you can put ribbon through to hang them on the tree.

Ours were rolled quite thin and baked in the oven on 100 degrees for 3 hours. They are rock solid now and tomorrow they will be painted. Will be given as Christmas presents for Grandparents :)

I've never actually done them, but this Kirstie Allsop one says you can harden them in the microwave, which would be tempting....

Must it be a specific kind of paint that you use? How do you get the glitter to stick on to the pieces?

Get yourself admitted to the local mental health in patient unit where I used to nurse and you can make them all day long....

I haven't been able to face one ever since......

You varnish them when they are painted otherwise they will absorb moisture and go fluffy.

I've used the Kirstie Allsop version and they worked a treat - heated them in the microwave as well. Sadly i didn't heed her warning about making the wholes big enough to take whatever you want to use to hang them with and cracked the Y . My christmas ended there

Thanks all. Do you need proper varnish to er, varnish?

Also can I keep any unused dough to use another time??

Yes, not clear nail varnish. Do you have an art shop nearby as they will be able to advise you on products?

Unused dough keeps in the fridge well wrapped in cling film but tends to discolour over time.

When making wall plaques or other flat decorations, the OT's used to back them with felt, cut out and glued on.

I've just made loads in the microwave. The one tip I can give is place a plate on top whilst cooking and this will prevent any bubbles from forming and keep what you make nice and smooth and flat.

No haven't got an art shop. What about b+q or something? A friend told me to use pova glue to varnish - will that not work?

Yes, any DIY place. Online art sites will advise as to best brand. PVA glue would be fine but use a medium, flat brush to avoid any clumpy lumpy bits.

Great thanks

You can use poster paints to paint them up, let it dry and then any old varnish (preferably the clear one and not the tinted version).

If you get your dough bubbling as you are cooking it, and it does happen, take it out of the oven and prick the bubbles with a pin... it will then be OK.

I have just got my decs out of the loft and salt dough sheep etc, that I made 15 years ago are still pristine, how sad is that?

Not sad - lovely.

Do you think itd work if I rolled out thick discs then pressed each dc's hand into it and made a hole in the top for ribbon?

Also you make the dough, cut out shapes, bake THEN paint THEN varnish right?

Ooh I might try these :)

Ooh, I'm glad I found this thread! I made some of these for the first time this afternoon and I was wondering how to decorate them and if I should be varnishing them....

We've made them this week, and I am not even slightly creative. I microwaved them to dry them out, and then let them dry out overnight. We've painted them using metallic paints from ELC (the normal ones that are between £1 and £1.75 a stand up tube). They're fine! But then again, I don't expect much from home made things like this, and along as the children feel they have made something that they can display, thats enough for me.

Leftmymist... Yes it will work but remember the thicker the dough the longer bake you will need... overnight might be the way to go at Gas Mark 1.5, 290' F or 145' C... it will not burn so don't worry :)

Thanks all.

One more question for now - can I make the decorations then leave them out and dry them in oven later? Am wanting to make them with ds in the morning but then we'll be out all day and don't want to leave the oven on.

Thanks all.

One more question for now - can I make the decorations then leave them out and dry them in oven later? Am wanting to make them with ds in the morning but then we'll be out all day and don't want to leave the oven on.

Left, that's exactly what I did. They dried out a bit before I put them in the oven, but that's fine.