Most of the summer we are outside playing, adventuring, or at the park, not at home crafting. That said I always keep a couple activities up my sleeve for those inevitable rainy days or when we just need a break from all heat and excitement.
Our most recent “project” – as my kids like to call them – were these seashell imprint pendants….
The boys loved this project start to finish! Everything from mixing & playing with the salt dough to painting and seeing the final product. At ages four (and almost six) this was just right for them.
Here’s how we did it.
1). Mix yourself up a batch of salt dough. All you need is:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1/2 cup warm water
2). Roll out your salt dough to your desired thickness and cut out circles using a cookie cutter or small glass. We used the larger end of a small juice glass for these circles.
3). Now the fun part! Have your child press their shell into the dough. Depending on the shape of the shell you may have to roll it around a little to get the full imprint. We used the Safari Ltd Seashells Toob (Generously provided to us, free of charge, from Safari Ltd. Thank you!) Tip: Lightly flour the shells surface before pressing into the salt dough so it doesn’t stick! My kids ooo’d & ahh’d about every imprint they made.
4). Place a small hole in the dough. We used a bbq skewer and just kind of wiggled it around until I got a hole large enough that I could thread some string or twine through there.
5). Bake in 250 degree oven for about 90min or until they are dried out.
6). Paint them if you so desire. We painted some and left some natural. Note: Don’t get your shell pendants wet even though they have hardened from the baking process they can still turn back into mush. Let them dry thoroughly.
7). Lastly (and somewhat optional) spray them with clear coat sealer. The kids liked how shiny this made them!
If you want a bonus activity have the kids wash their seashells off in a bowl of water after. That will keep them busy for a little while longer while you clean up.
Happy Summering!
If you like this activity we are pretty sure you will also like these! (Click on an image below to read more). And thanks again to Safari Ltd. for providing us with the seashells Seashells Toob for this project!
Bug Fossils
Sea Life Play Dough Imprints
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