Adventures in Salt Dough
POSTED by: on 08/26/2010
(0)Thematic Attic has been having all sorts of summer activities this year, including the Artist Workshop Series where kids learn about great artists in history and do fun activities. One of the artists they learned about was Walt Disney.
For an activity, they followed in Disney’s footsteps and designed a theme park. I got to do the practice one. It’s an adventure theme park called Scottland.
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- The mountains and all 3D details were made out of salt dough.
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- Other materials include thread, stripped bell wire, toothpicks, and acrylic paints.
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- The masts of the ship were made from short pieces of stripped 24 gauge wire
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- The train and ski lift
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- Rafts to and from the island
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- The mountains were made of crumpled packing paper with a thin layer of dough over it.
I’ve discovered that salt dough has a very low “resolution,” meaning that the amount of detail you can mold into it is rather low. However, it’s extremely easy to make, non-toxic, and fun to work with. When you are trying to make a smooth surface, especially where two pieces of dough meet, it helps to push the dough around with a wet paint brush. Painting is also rather easy, though it helps to dilute the paint with a small amount of water so that it fills in the surface of the dough completely.
My recipe for salt dough:
- 1 cup salt
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup water
Mix the salt and flour in the bowl, then add the water and mix until smooth. Extra flour or water may be needed to get the right consistency.
The dough we made for the workshop lasted in a sealed container for a week and may have lasted more had we tried to store it longer.