Salt Dough Gifts

Linking up with Anne at Domesblissity for Thriving Thursday.

My Daughter who is 13 had been agonising over gifts for her friends.

Not being in a position to spend lots of money and also not wanting her to feel her gifts were inferior in anyway I suggested we have a go at making something personal for each of them.

Salt dough is so easy to make and I had everything to hand.  All you need is:

Equal parts plain flour and salt (say a cup of each) and half that amount of water.  I add a little (approx tsp) of vegetable oil to make it more pliable.

Mix it all together and then kneed.  You really need to kneed it for at least 5 minutes, but the longer the better.

Roll it out and use cookie cutters to stamp shapes.

Don't forget to make a hole if you want to be able to hang them up.

Either cook on a low heat in the oven for a couple of hours, leave to air dry (about 3 days) or, pop them in the microwave.  I've found 1 minute bursts (turning them each time) for about 3 minutes on a medium heat works really well.  If you find they rise a little or you have air bubbles then just place a plate on top of them as they cook.

Then, decorate:

Miss Mac thought they were pretty awesome.  I shall put them in polythene bags and tie them up with pretty ribbon - total cost - practically nothing - originality - priceless.

I've already started making some salt dough bunting as a gift for my niece to hang in her bedroom as well as making salt dough roses and strawberries made in silicone ice cube trays. 

It really is so addictive!