Salt Dough Keepsake

This Hand prints keepsake has become my favorite thing I did in the recent times. I love imprinting my kids’ hand prints and foot prints. Those tiny little hands and foot will be big enough before you know it 😀 I made this salt dough hand prints of my kids to gift it to my on Father’s day 🙂

It’s so simple to make and will make a perfect gift for any occasion. Even if you are not gifting, it would make a beautiful memory for a lifetime! You can even make a bigger one with all the family member’s hand prints 🙂

Materials needed:

• All-purpose flour/Maida – 2 cups
• Salt – 1 cup
• Water – 1 cup (approx.)
• Acrylic paint – any colors of your choice
• Cute little hands 😉

Instructions:

• Mix all-purpose flour and salt in a bowl. Add water little by little until you can form a smooth non-sticky dough. You might need more or less of the water quantity mentioned.

• In an oven-proof tray, spread a parchment paper. Now shape the dough into your desired shape like a heart, circle, square or a rectangle. I used a rolling pin to flatten the dough and then shaped it using my hands. Using a rolling pin, gives a smooth finish on top.
• Make sure you spread the dough to less than an inch thickness. If it’s very thick, it will take a longer time to cook.

• Now, dust your kids’ hands with a little bit of flour and make an impression in the dough as deeply as possible. You can also make one hand print and one foot print.

• I have left the dough to air dry for a day.
• After the dough is air-dried, pre-heat your oven at the lowest temperature available. I had mine at 200F.
• Place the dough in the oven and bake for at least 2 hours.
• Take the baked dough out and let it dry for another 2-3 hrs. The dough should have cooked through and changed in color.

• Now, paint the imprints with colors of your choice. The kids can pitch in and help you out in this.

• You would need at least two coatings of paint. Ta-da!! Your beautiful keepsake is ready 🙂

Notes: – If you plan to hang this keepsake, make sure to put a small hole in the dough before drying and baking it.