How to make a craft from salt dough. Crafts made from salt dough: a fascinating hobby for children and adults

Flour can be used not only to bake pies and cook dumplings. Try using this raw material for beautiful crafts made from salt dough. We invite you to master a new female hobby, the results of which will not be difficult to find practical application.

History does not know who first came up with the idea of ​​creating sculptures from flour, water and salt, but there is a version that beautiful crafts from salt dough were invented by confectioners. Creative chefs became bored with baking quickly stale buns and, having improved the recipe, invented a material that does not deteriorate over the years and does not lose its attractiveness. Today, testoplasty is a popular women's hobby that you should definitely try.

Testoplasty is a fun hobby with a serious approach

Salt dough is a plastic material from which you can make crafts no less interesting than polymer clay. Ready-made figurines can be easily painted and decorated, turning into real works of art that can easily find a place not only in the home and office, but also in a museum. The presence of salt in the dough preserves the finished product and protects it from various pests that are partial to flour products.

The main advantage of testoplasty is the availability of materials. The cost of the finished craft is mere pennies, and products for modeling, as well as for crafts, are always available in any home.

Having mastered modeling from salt dough, you will be able to make small souvenirs for sale and turn into new ones. You can sell figurines online, on social networks, or offer your masterpieces in public places: at train stations, in parks, on the beach.

Nowadays, many cities hold open fairs, where everyone has the opportunity to sell what they have lovingly made with their own hands. Charms, refrigerator magnets, and kitchen decor are in great demand.

Salt dough recipe for crafts

This versatile salted craft dough requires just three ingredients: flour, salt and water.
Flour should be used only of the highest grade, which does not contain bran or any improving additives. Never buy pancake, pancake or self-raising flour - during drying, the dough made from it will begin to rise, which will lead to cracks.

You should also take plain salt without iodine and other additives, but clean and white. “Extra” is ideal. If you cannot find finely ground salt, you can take pure coarse salt, dissolving it in water, taken in the volume according to the basic recipe.

Before mixing, the water must be passed through a filter and cooled. It is recommended to use ice water prepared in the freezer.

Ingredient proportions:

• Flour – 300 grams;
• Salt – 300 grams;
• Water – 200 ml.

Video recipe from experienced craftsmen

Some craftsmen use additives to improve plasticity, such as starch, vegetable oil or glue. However, for the first masterpiece, it is better to prepare salted dough for crafts according to the basic recipe. It is important to consider that flour and salt are taken in equal proportions by weight, but salt is heavier than flour, so it turns out to be half as much in volume! For example, a glass of flour will require half a glass of salt!

Secrets of sculpting and shaping figures

Working with dough does not require any special talent, but it is unlikely that you will be able to sculpt something special the first time. In air, the mass of flour and salt quickly hardens, so you need to store it in a tightly closed jar, separating, if necessary, the required amount for sculpting a separate element. If the mass was painted in different colors, then portions of different shades should be stored in separate containers.

There are many techniques for working with dough. It can be rolled out into a layer, and then figures can be cut out and compositions can be formed from them, like flowers made from sugar mastic and cold porcelain. At the joints, the parts are moistened and gently pressed against each other. The same dough, diluted to a more liquid consistency, is also used as glue.

For large volumetric figures, wire frames are used or placed inside jars and boxes, which reduces the volume of raw materials and speeds up the drying process. To fasten the elements, you can use toothpicks, using them to secure the parts to be joined.

Finished works are dried in the open air or baked in the oven, which significantly speeds up the process of acquiring the required strength. During drying, the oven is turned on to the lowest temperature, and the door is slightly opened. At high temperatures, the craft may crack.

How to decorate dough products

To form reliefs and three-dimensional figures, you can use any available materials: stencils, coins, toothpicks, sushi sticks, combs, pocket knives, pastry syringe, cookie cutters, vegetable knives, etc.

Figures made from unpainted dough have a light beige tint, but the mass can be painted at the kneading stage, and the finished products can be coated with varnish, acrylic dyes, watercolors or gouache.

Natural products, such as cocoa or beet juice, can be used as dyes. If dyes require dilution with water, the total volume of liquid indicated in the recipe should be reduced.

Video: delicious strawberries for beginners

Look at the selection of beautiful crafts, perhaps you will fall in love with this creativity and make it your hobby. Try making a simple figure first - or a colorful one. If you have small children, make casts of their arms and legs; in 20 years this craft will have a high value.

Beautiful crafts from dough: photos for inspiration

Master classes on creating figurines

If you are interested in this simple technique, try starting with simple crafts. We have prepared several master classes available for beginners.

Technology for making salt dough products

More and more attention has recently been paid to the revival and promotion of various types of folk applied art in Russia.

It is no secret that since ancient times in Rus' they treated bread with great respect. How many holidays and rituals are dedicated to him. And the most important holiday among the peasants was dedicated to the harvest. For this occasion, festive loaves, pies, braids, rolls and many other delicious masterpieces of culinary art were baked. Masterpieces, because they were not only incredibly tasty, but also beautifully decorated with various patterns and figures. And the remaining flour, or, as it was called, flour, was not thrown away (this was considered a great sin). Salt and water were added to it, and various figures, amulets, and totems were sculpted from this (inedible) dough. And this type of creativity in the old days was called mukosol.

Over time, other ingredients were added to the salt dough recipe, but the main ingredients - salt, flour and water - remained unchanged.

Here, for example, are some recipes for making salt dough:

1. Flour and salt are taken in equal proportions 1:1 and ½ part water. For example, 1 glass of flour, 1 glass of coarse table salt and half a glass of warm water. All this is thoroughly kneaded for 10 - 15 minutes so that the dough becomes soft, like plasticine and at the same time does not stick to your hands. Then the finished mass is placed in a cool place for 3–4 hours to “settle.”

2. Take flour and salt in equal proportions (1 glass of flour, 1 glass of fine salt), 1 tbsp. a spoonful of vegetable oil and half a glass of warm water with the addition of 2-3 drops of iodine. The mass is well kneaded and placed in the refrigerator for 2 - 3 hours.

3. The following method: 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of coarse salt and 1 cup of glue mass (100-150 ml of water and 2 tablespoons of wallpaper glue). Mix everything thoroughly.

4. Instead of wallpaper glue, you can use PVA glue: 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of salt and ½ cup of water with PVA glue (50 g of PVA glue for ½ cup of water). Everything is also thoroughly mixed until smooth. Products made from salt dough can be left to dry completely naturally (in a warm place near a stove or radiator, or in the sun), but this way the product will not be ready for further processing soon.

In another case, the finished salt dough elements can be dried in the oven over low heat and at a temperature not exceeding 125 °C.

As for coloring the finished product, there are several ways:

1. Food coloring is added to the dough during the process of kneading the dough (disadvantage - the colors are not too saturated).

2. Oil paints look very impressive and colorful (the disadvantage is that the paint takes a long time to dry on the product).

3. Gouache paints create a dense, rich layer (the disadvantage is that the paint can wear off if not covered with a clear varnish).

By doing modeling, a teenager develops fine motor skills (and this also contributes to the development of speech). Modeling develops spatial thinking and imagination. Thanks to modeling classes, a child or teenager directly experiences reality. In addition, when modeling from salt dough, the teenager works with environmentally friendly material.

When making products from salt dough, they use the same techniques and methods of working as with plasticine:

1. At the beginning of work, you need to take care of your work area (the surface of the table should be covered with oilcloth or a piece of plexiglass), you need to have several napkins (paper and cotton).

2. To work with the dough, you will also need a variety of tools: stacks (wooden, metal, wire), various molds, templates, etc.

3. Basic sculpting techniques: rolling, rolling, flattening, pinching, pinching, pressing, bending edges, etc.

You can create an entire composition from individually sculpted parts. Composition is a creative process, combining individual details into an expressive picture.

When making paintings from salt dough, you can also use additional materials: scraps of fabric, beads, beads, buttons, feathers, etc.

Working with salt dough gives the children great satisfaction; they work with great interest with this “unusual” material, creating extraordinary, fabulous paintings.

What a person can’t use to make a beautiful craft, and sometimes it’s even difficult to imagine that such material is even possible to use. One of these hobbies is sculpting. from salted dough. It came from ancient times and is still very popular among kids.

This craft requires virtually no investment, and the method of making it is simple and straightforward. During this time, craftsmen made a huge number of different items, for example: candlesticks, frames for paintings or photographs, products for children. The dough is pliable not only to the hands of a skilled person, but also to a beginner. We encourage you to engage in this exciting leisure activity with your child, in which the child himself will become an excellent helper or even a performer. In addition, crafts can develop a child’s imagination and emotional state, and such products can decorate a child’s room. All parents know that fine motor skills, which develop when modeling puff pastry with your own hands, contributes to the development of speech in young children. And the pleasure received by family and friends is generally difficult to describe. And a plus to all that has been said is that such activities will quickly teach the child how to hold a pen or pencil correctly.

Recipe for salt dough for making crafts

1. At the very beginning, you need to prepare our salt dough. To do this, mix a glass of salt and a glass of flour in a saucepan. Add to them a tablespoon of sunflower oil and about half a glass of water. Mix everything thoroughly (the principle is the same as in a regular dough). If the dough is too soft, then add salt and flour one to one. The result should be a dense consistency (resembling plasticine in density). Then put the dough in a bag and put it in the refrigerator for three hours.

2. When time has passed, the dough needs to be divided into several parts and colored. You can use soft acrylic or gouache paint. We take the dough in our hands, add paint to it and roll it until it becomes homogeneous. You can paint all the other parts in this way, and if you mix the paint with each other, you can get an interesting shade.

3. We prepare the workplace for modeling - we spread polyethylene on the table. Then we place on the table a rolling pin, a cutting board, a brush, a plastic knife and sticks for squeezing out the dough.

4. Crafts made from salted dough need to be baked in the oven. The temperature should not be set too high to avoid burning the product.

5. At the end, you can paint the craft in the desired color or varnish it. In this case, you can take gouache and add a little PVA glue to it or take acrylic varnish.

Watch the video: Salt dough dragon

Master class on modeling salt dough

On our website we collect many master classes and interesting crafts that are easy to do yourself. Come visit us more often!

Salted play dough is a safe material for children's crafts. You can use it to make cool Christmas tree decorations of any shape. Let's look at a few master classes prepared by designers.

Salt dough recipe

For dough crafts, take:

• 1 glass of salt;
• 1 cup flour;
• water;
• colored gouache.

This is the simplest salt dough recipe. To improve it, add 5 tablespoons of sunflower oil.

IDEA! The paint can be replaced with juice (cherry or beetroot). If a child eats a piece of dough while modeling, he will definitely not be poisoned. The dough can be colored at the end.

How to make dough at home? Step by step:

1. Place all ingredients into a deep plate. First dry, then only water and oil.
2. Mix everything so that the dough turns out like dumplings. It shouldn't be oak.
3. To make the mixture faster, turn on the mixer.

IDEA! If the toys are small or you need to make small parts, make the dough separately with PVA or starch. There may be some glue left after wallpapering. Use it instead of PVA.

How to make crafts from salt dough with your own hands

Salt dough, the recipe for which will be easy to master even for children, is a very flexible material, but its composition is absolutely safe. Add food colors or even natural ones (fruit or vegetable juices) to it. Even if you leave your child alone to sculpt, nothing will happen to him.

Modeling tools:

1. rolling pin;
2. flat working surface;
3. ball pen;
4. paint brush;
5. cup;
6. threads;
7. medium size needle;
8. silicone baking molds;
9. any stencils for patterns;
10. paint (acrylic or gouache);

To prevent the gouache from cracking, add glue to it.

Cover the figure with paint and varnish

The dye is added not only at the stage of kneading the dough, but also during modeling. Simply divide the dough into several parts (1 part = 1 color), make a depression in the center and add dye. When sculpting, it will be distributed evenly throughout the piece.

When the figurine is ready, coat it with varnish, so the paint will definitely not roll off and become lighter. The aerosol form will facilitate the coating process.

If the varnish is liquid, cover the toy in several layers. Cover thickly in one layer. It can also be matte.

IMPORTANT! If you dry the toy properly, you can do without varnish. It is needed if you are not entirely sure that you did everything correctly.

What could go wrong?

1. Cracks or bubbles appeared after drying. This means you dried the figurine incorrectly. Most likely, the temperature is high with the oven door closed. Try sanding these areas with sandpaper.
2. Cracks may also appear after painting. Let the craft dry completely and only then paint. Let the figurine dry naturally, sand the cracks and paint again.
3. If any part of the figure breaks off, glue it with PVA.
4. Store the figures in a dry place at normal room temperature. They can be put in any cardboard box, then nothing will happen to them for the next holiday.

Simple Christmas tree toys made from salt dough for beginners

Let's watch a few step-by-step master classes and figure out how to make simple but interesting Christmas tree toys from dough.

Idea 1. Gingerbread men

Try making gingerbread men with your kids. This will be a lot of fun. Do the most difficult stages of the work, and let them knead the dough themselves. Show what kind of face the little man will have, let them try to repeat it.

Idea 2. Flat colorful figures

Idea 3. Snowflakes with patterns

Find out how to save on holiday packaging and make it yourself in the article

What else can you make from salt dough to decorate a Christmas tree? Let's try to make snowflakes.

Idea 4. Shiny figures

The advantage of products made from salt dough is their weight - the toys are very light. The branches will not bend.

Option 5. Circles with flowers

Idea 6. Silver stars

Idea 7. Name tags for gifts

Labels can be not only in the shape of hearts, flowers or rectangles. For a New Year's gift, try making a house or a snowflake.

IMPORTANT! Read the article on what to give to loved ones for New Year and Christmas 2018.

Idea 8. Lace plates Children are very interested in making three-dimensional figures. You can start with simple vegetables. Use faux thread to make segments on your pumpkin.

We invite you to immerse yourself in the world of art without leaving your apartment! To make it easier for you to learn a new activity, we have prepared useful tips and master classes.

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

Anyone can work with the dough. 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 play dough

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

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

Thoroughly stir the dry ingredients in a deep container, pour in the oil and a little water. To give the dough a certain color, carefully stir in juice (for example, carrot or beetroot).

• 1.5 tbsp. flour;
• 1 tbsp. salt;
• 125 ml water.

Mix everything and knead the dough like 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 tbsp. salt;
• 125 ml water;
• 1 tbsp. l. hand cream (vegetable oil).

Combine all ingredients and knead thoroughly until smooth. You can use a blender or mixer to speed up the process. The dough turns out very soft and pliable.

• 1 tbsp. flour;
• 1 tbsp. finely ground salts;
• 125 ml water.

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

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

This dough is well suited for making delicate works. We recommend using a mixer for mixing - it makes the task much easier.

Tools you need for creativity

In addition to the fact that you need to learn how to make salted dough for modeling, it is also important to prepare the necessary tools and a set of accessories:

• a small rolling pin or bottle of water (you can’t live without it!);
• modeling board;
• knife;
• ballpoint pen refill (for creating holes and patterns);
• brush;
• container with water;
• shaped cookie cutters;
• buttons, beads, rings, lace, etc. for making impressions;
• paints.

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

Basic drying methods

When the product is ready, it must be properly dried. There are several methods. Let's look at the most popular of them.

Method 1 - In the oven (preheated)

Drying in a slightly open oven at a temperature of 55-80 °C (the craft is placed in a preheated oven). Place the product on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or in a heat-resistant bowl. The process may take about an hour or longer depending on the size of the figurine.

Method 2 - Natural conditions

This means drying in the open air (but not in direct sunlight). This method takes longer than the first, but is more effective. It is best to place the product on a wooden or plastic surface. Air drying takes about 3-4 days. But we do not recommend drying it on a radiator - this can lead to the craft cracking and crumbling.

Method 3 - In the oven (cold)

According to this method, crafts made from salt dough must be placed in a cold oven and only then turned on, eventually heating up to 150 °C. The products should cool there 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 your hands.

Coloring methods:

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

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

Why is varnishing needed?

Finished products are varnished so that the paint does not fade or wash 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 - you need to cover the product with it in several layers, the result is ruddy and natural;
• thick - it better protects the craft from moisture; you can use either a varnish that imparts a mirror shine or a matte one.

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

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

Possible problems and their solutions

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

1. The dough has bubbles or cracks after drying. This may be caused by the wrong choice of flour or failure to follow drying rules. The simplest and most inexpensive flour for modeling is suitable - low-grade rye or wheat. And the product should be dried without undue haste in a slightly preheated oven with the door ajar. In general, it is better if the craft dries naturally.
2. The product is cracked after painting. This can happen if you start painting a craft that has not yet dried enough. Let it dry in the fresh air, smooth out any rough edges with sandpaper and repaint.
3. The product is cracked due to its large thickness. In this case, you need to remove excess dough from the back or bottom. In order for a large product to dry evenly in the oven, it must be turned over periodically.
4. An element has broken off. You can try gluing it with PVA glue, but it’s better to just smooth out the unevenness and decorate it with some kind of decoration.
5. The craft has faded after painting. An additional coating of varnish can restore the color to its former richness and make the craft brighter.

Crafts made from salt dough

According to some assumptions, the first dough moldings were used by cooks to decorate baked goods. Today, you can sculpt anything from such a wonderful material: paintings, souvenir figurines, and toys.

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

2015 is the year of the wooden sheep, so the most popular souvenir is a sheep made from salt dough. We offer you a workshop for making such a figurine.

Want something interesting?

You will need:

• fine table salt;
• Wheat flour;
• cold water;
• foil;
• brush;
• whitewash;
• 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 cool in the refrigerator for two hours.
3. After this time, you can start sculpting. Make 4 balls from the salt dough. These will be the sheep's feet. Place them as shown in the picture.
4. Roll up a piece of foil and place it in the dough ball. Then you need to roll a ball out of the flatbread - this is the body of the lamb, it needs to be laid on top of the paws.
5. Now use pieces of dough to form a head, curled horns, ears and eyes.
6. To get something like curly sheep's wool, roll a lot of small balls and place them evenly on the back of our animal.
7. The workpiece is ready. All that remains is 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 figure with white. Wait until they are completely dry.
9. Color the sheep with gouache. And using a permanent marker you can draw eyelashes, a mouth, outline horns and other details as desired.
10. Finally, varnish the lamb. The varnish will add shine and smoothness, giving the craft a finished look.

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

We act in stages:

1. Creating a painting, like any other dough craft, begins with preparing the dough itself. There are many different variations of recipes, but the most popular is this: 1 tbsp. finely ground salt, 2 tbsp. flour, 200 ml water. Knead elastic salted 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 crusts quite quickly in the air).
3. To connect parts together, use water rather than glue.
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 is dry, paint it with gouache and cover it with two layers of varnish.
6. Finally, attach the picture to canvas or any other fabric in the frame.

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

Symbolic mucous figurines

Salt dough is a great alternative to clay. And crafts made from it can become a unique decoration for your home or an original idea for a gift. It has long been believed that flour 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 given above.

1. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it is 0.5 cm thick.
2. Make imprints of any cookie cutters on this sheet. These are future salt dough figures.
3. Turn on the oven and line a baking tray with baking paper.
4. Using a wooden spatula or simply using your hands, transfer the figures to the baking sheet.
5. Using a cocktail straw 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 (or hang around the house).
6. Bake the products in the oven at minimum temperature for several hours.
7. Transfer them to a flat surface and let cool.
8. Color the toys as you wish.

Here are some more examples of mukosolek designs that are easy to make and look amazing!

1. Each recipe for salted dough for crafts involves using exclusively wheat or rye flour (but definitely not pancake flour) and finely ground salt (not iodized, since the dough will not be homogeneous, but with large inclusions).
2. The mixing water should be very cold. Add it in portions, carefully kneading the dough. Depending on the flour you choose, different amounts of water may be required.
3. The dough should not stick to your hands or crumble. If it doesn't stick well, add a little water, and if it sticks, add a little flour.
4. Salt dough is perfectly stored 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. The test shelf life is 1 week.
5. Crafts made from small elements look more elegant. To ensure that the parts adhere well to each other, moisten the joints with water using a brush.
6. To tint the dough itself, add a little food coloring diluted in water (for Easter eggs). You can create new shades from dough of different colors: to do this, simply knead the multi-colored pieces with your fingers.

Testoplasty is not just children's fun, but also a correctional activity that allows you to develop fine motor skills, perseverance and imagination of children, cultivating aesthetic taste. And for adults, this is a great way to express themselves and recuperate. We wish you inspiration, and let creativity be only a joy!