This week my little crew and I are working hard to bring the brightness of Easter into our apartment. Spring is here, but it definitely doesn’t feel like it. And by that I mean, look like it from behind our windows. We’ve been having cold and gloomy days with crazy winds lately. Which I guess is somewhat of a good thing as it has made it a little easier to stay inside. The kids have not been outside in 18 days. And myself just once for a quick market-run. (If you have a backyard, we definitely envy you.)
But, luckily with the help of the world-wide web and our love for all things crafty, we have been able to fill our time (between school work and brother and sister hair-pulling shenanigans) with lots of colorful fun. And as a result, have brought some sunshine into our home.
The first of the activites we did was our Salt Dough Easter Eggs. The dough is so simple to make, with just 3 ingredients- salt, flour, and water. And is a breeze to roll, re-roll and decorate any way you want. We used an egg cookie cutter I had, though a bunny would be super fun too. Then we grabbed whatever we could find around the house that would make a pretty imprint. We used some lace from the sleeve of one of Miss Sparkle’s tops, a fork (top and bottom,) a heart-shaped cookie cutter, a straw and a plastic knife.
Once the shapes are done and you are happy with any desired prints, you use the straw to make a hole for hanging. Then you can dry them out using one of two methods. Simply let them sit in a dry area for 24-48 hours, flipping them over once the tops are dry. Or you can put them into a low oven for about an hour and half, also flipping halfway through. I preferred the finished result of the drying out naturally method as the oven made them puff a tiny bit. But either way, both still looked great.
Then, to finish off the eggs, I think the options are endless based on how creative you want to be or what you have to work with. We wanted ours to be pastel colored but didn’t have any such paint. So we made some paint. I’ll be sharing how we did that in the next post. Glitter would have been fun too if we had some. If you are doing one color, like white, a spray paint might be the quickest. And although, we didn’t have any, I think a a clear glaze spray or mod podge would finish them off even better and keep them lasting longer. (Maybe post-quarantine we can get our hands on some and keep the Christmas ornaments we made with the leftover dough safe too.)
Love and happy crafting to you. Stay safe and healthy.
Salt Dough Easter Egg Ornaments
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour (I used all-purpose)
- 1/2 cup table salt
- 3/4 cup warm water
For Shaping & Decorating:
- egg-shaped cookie cutter (or bunny,etc)
- straw
- paint/ glitter
- lace, fork, doilie etc for texture (optional)
- parchment (for rolling)
- thin string or twine
Instructions
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In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and warm water. Once it forms a ball, knead on the counter for 10 minutes.
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When the dough is smooth, roll between sheets of parchment or on a very lightly floured surface and cut into desired shapes. (The thicker they are, the longer they take to dry.). If you want to include texture, now is the time to use a fork, straw or piece of lace of ribbon and make pretty imprints. Then place onto a parchment lined cookie sheet & add a hole for hanging in each one using the straw.
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Let them air-dry for 24-48 hours (flipping once the tops are dry.) Or alternatively, bake at about 175F for 2 hours, flipping halfway through.
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Once the eggs are dry, paint and decorate as desired and let dry completely. Then loop the string or twine through the holes and you’re ready to hang.
