Daily Activity: Salt Dough Handprints and Footprints

I made one of these when D turned one and I wanted to make one for T as well. I like this version better. With D's I bought a plaster kit from the store. It was a royal pain. Dried too quickly. With this recipe I also plan to make play dough. It was a fun consistency to play with.

Salt dough recipe:

1 cup salt

1 cup plain flour

Half a cup of warm water

Mix together into a large bowl and knead it until smooth and stretchy. This last part is important otherwise the dough remains sticky and quite granular from the salt. If it is still too sticky add a bit more flour, if too dry and crumbly then add a tiny touch more water. A little bit of trial and error is all that is needed and it really is so easy!

I then placed the dough into a round aluminum pan with wax paper. Baked it for 3 hours at 100 degrees.

Here's another recipe for plaster hand and footprints:

Items Needed:

Patch plaster or plaster of Paris

1 1/4 C water

Tin can

Mixing spoon

Paper plates

Picture hook (optional)

To make the plaster mix, stir 2 C of patch plaster or plaster of Paris and one and a quarter C water in a tin can. The mixture should be as thick as pea soup so it can cast without air bubbles. Plaster of Paris dries in about 10-20 min, while patch plaster takes 20-40 min. I'd recommend patch plaster.  

To make a cast of your child's hand or footprint, pour one inch of plaster mix onto a paper plate. Wait 2 min for plaster of paris, 6 min for patch plaster. Have your child press her hand or foot gently into the plaster and make sure not to go to the bottom of the plate. Hold for a min or two and remove. Hopefully the little one will hold still long enough. D didn't and that's why it was a pain. Let the imprint sit overnight, then peel the plate from the print. If you want, glue a picture hook the the back to hang.