Salt Dough Handprint Keepsake

Salt dough is quickly becoming a craft supply staple for us and this salt dough handprint craft is a new favorite! I wanted a keepsake craft for grandparents that I could make with my own kids. It is perfect for a preschool Valentine or Mother’s Day craft or in a primary classroom especially loved that the salt dough is edible (although I wouldn’t recommend trying it!), so I was able to make this with my one year old daughter without fear of her eating it. The best part is, the dough only takes a few minutes to make and the clean up was so easy!

Salt Dough Recipe

This recipe can be scaled up or down depending on the amount of salt dough you need.

Ingredients

• 2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup salt
• 1 cup warm water

Directions

Combine 2 cups of the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add warm water to the bowl. Since the water is warm, I began by stirring with a silicone spatula. Then, I gave the bowl to my son and showed him how to knead the dough.

Knead dough using your hands to form a smooth ball. If the dough is still too sticky, add additional flour until the dough is the correct texture.

Using a rolling pin, roll a quarter of the dough out on the table until it is between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick. Then, shape the dough into a heart using your hands.

Then, guide each child in placing their hands in the center of the heart. Spread out all fingers to make sure the hand fits properly on the dough prior to pressing down. Once the hand is positioned properly, gently press down to leave an imprint of the entire hand on the dough. Make sure not to press too hard so that the hand does not go all the way through the dough.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place the completed salt dough hearts onto the sheet pan.

Bake in a 200 degree oven for 2 1/2 hours. Then, set the hearts on a cooling rack to finish drying over the next couple of days. You could also bake in the oven for a longer amount of time, but this will cause the dough to turn a lovely brown color.

After the dough dries, you can wrap as is, or you can paint the dough using liquid paint.

Happy Crafting!

This post may contain Amazon affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my affiliate links, which helps to support The Primary Brain blog. As always, I only recommend products that I love and all ideas shared are my own.

Written on February 6th, 2020 by Laurin Brainard