Disclosure: Discount School Supply graciously supplied us with this glitter at my request because I am obsessed with their glitter. My review is not swayed by this free product because I already adored it!
This is the first post in an awesome five day series on Fall Recipes for Play that Housing a Forest, Learn Play Imagine, Blog Me Mom, and I (Fun at Home with Kids) have put together. By the end of this week, you'll have 20 fabulous ways to embrace fall. :) We are kicking off the series today, Monday, with ideas for Fall Doughs. Tuesday will be Fall Homemade Paints; Wednesday Fall Glowing Recipes; Thursday is dedicated to the Scents of Fall; and Friday is all about Fall Nature.
One of our favorite spices is pumpkin spice, and every year S and I make loads of ornaments and decorations. The kid LOVES to decorate. So I figured I'd make a batch of Pumpkin Spice Salt Dough, because yummy smelling decorations are better than unscented ones. Ha. As I'd hoped, our dough smelled deeeeelicious. S thought so too, and couldn't resist repeatedly sniffing it.
S and I have made cookies and ornaments dozens and dozens of times. Until this day, I have always needed to "start" her out by rolling the dough myself...but this year, my big 4 year old could do it completely solo.
And cookie cutters? No problem. She was a total pro. For the first time in my life, I literally just sat back and watched her go. She made these ornaments (minus two I got to have a turn cutting out) all by herself.
So. Big.
And of course my little X wanted to try a bit, too. He mostly thinks dough is hilarious. He loves to poke and squish it and crack up.
He did VERY earnestly try to roll the dough for a few minutes before deciding it was too hard and going back to some floor play.
She's basically grown up now. EEEK!
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After baking the ornaments and making our house smell even more delicious (oh. my. word.), we decided that decorations are not SUPER decorative without loads of glitter. I made some glitter glue for S to paint on the ornaments by mixing some of our absolute favorite
Colorations Extra-Safe Plastic Glitter
with some clear glue. We also added some extra glitter on top. Because, you know. Glitter. You can never have too much.
with some clear glue. We also added some extra glitter on top. Because, you know. Glitter. You can never have too much.
As I mentioned in our Golden Glitter Slime post, this glitter is SUPER pretty and sparkly, but also SO kid-friendly because it does not dump out when you shake it. It dispenses very slowly with shaking, so it doesn't make a huuuuuge mess (we've had other glitters DUMP on us before). And did I mention it's SOOOOO PRETTY? Because look at that:
See. Told ya. So pretty. If you are glitter averse, you can either leave the ornaments plain, or you could paint them. We had nowhere to hang these, but you can easily turn them into ornaments by making a hole in the dough before baking. S gleefully decorated the center of our dining room table and our fireplace mantel with her beautiful (and lovely smelling!) decorations.
To make your own Pumpkin Spice Salt Dough:
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 cup water
2 tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
Stir all really well. I find that at the end I need to knead this like a bread dough. You want it to be dry, but not cracking. If it is sticking to your hands at all, add more flour. If it is crumbling all over the place, add more water. We also found it easier for S to work with if she lightly floured her work space between rolling out each ball of dough. We baked them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet in a 200 degree oven for an hour, then flipped and cooked an additional hour. Your ornaments should be really hard with no give. If your child has made thicker ornaments, you may need to bake for longer than 2 hours. If you have thinner ornaments, they may be done slightly sooner.
Now that you've got our recipe for Fall Dough, don't forget to check out the other three amazing recipes that are part of the series. And be sure to come back tomorrow for Homemade Fall Paint Recipes!!!
Apple Dough made with Real Apples from Blog Me Mom
Pumpkin Spice Marshmallow Dough from Housing a Forest
Fall Playdough Recipe from Learn Play Imagine
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All activities here are activities I feel are safe for my own children. As your child's parents/guardians, you will need to decide what you feel is safe for your family. I always encourage contacting your child's pediatrician for guidance if you are not sure about the safety/age appropriateness of an activity. All activities on this blog are intended to be performed with adult supervision. Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when activities call for the use of materials that could potentially be harmful, such as scissors, or items that could present a choking risk (small items), or a drowning risk (water activities), and with introducing a new food/ingredient to a child (allergies). Observe caution and safety at all times. The author and blog disclaim liability for any damage, mishap, or injury that may occur from engaging in any of these activities on this blog.
Gorgeous photos, as always! When I grow up I want to take beautiful photos like you. :) Love this idea. What a fun idea for fall. Great way to get kids involved in decorating and give them a sense of ownership. :)
ReplyDeleteDude - you already do take gorgeous photos!!! Thank you so much for the sweet comment. :)
DeleteLooks so fun! We'll totally do this when it starts feeling like fall outside, erm, or when the temp goes below 101 ;) Darn Texas heat! Or maybe we'll just turn the AC down super low and put on our jackets. Score!!
ReplyDeleteHahhaah - I like the A/C and jackets idea. Totally seems reasonable. ;)
DeleteIf these were well shellacked (sp?) well, will this dough keep?
ReplyDeleteAm thinking this would be a great project when (in TX, too) it gets a little cooler ( like November:)~ and we can make some long lasting on terms of year ornaments for the table....as well some for Christmas:)~.
And by shellacking am thinking of some type of spray ( aerosol can not my favorite, but for lifetime artwork maybe worth it....)
If they're well cooked, we've never had a problem with them keeping (so long as they are kept in a dry place - not damp). I have some that I made when I was 8 still! No shellac on those - the salt preserves them and discourages mold, I guess.
DeleteLovely addition of the scent Asia! Salt dough is one of very favourite mediums to use. Sweet results too!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anna! The scent worked out so well - our house still smells amazing! Salt dough ornaments are some of my favorite holiday memories from childhood - I think they never get old!
DeleteThanks so much for linking up to Discover and Explore- you know I love this idea!
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting Discover and Explore! :) :) :)
DeleteI love these...especially the glitter! Just can't decide whether to make them now or save them for Thanksgiving table decorations. Thanks so much for sharing this post in the Discover & Explore linky. I'm featuring you today.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Shaunna!!!! :)
DeleteThese are awesome! I just added this to our October homeschool lesson plan :)
ReplyDeleteYay! That makes me so happy Play Create Explore! :)
DeleteGoing to try this and add magnets on the back to hold up fall art work on the fridge! Thanks for the idea!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love the idea of making them into magnets! Brilliant!!!!!
DeleteI'm the Editorial Assistant for Fun Family Crafts and I wanted to let you know that we have featured your pumpkin spice salt dough project! You can see it here:
ReplyDeletehttp://funfamilycrafts.com/pumpkin-spice-salt-dough-ornaments/
If you have other kid friendly crafts, we'd love it if you would submit them. If you would like to display a featured button on your site, you can grab one from the right side bar of your post above. Thanks for a wonderful project idea!
Hi Cindy!
DeleteThanks so much for the lovely feature! :)
What a fun sensory filled activity! I'll be featuring this on The Crafty Crow soon!
ReplyDeleteWahoo! Thank you, Cassi!!
DeleteDo these continue to smell days/weks after baking?
ReplyDeleteOh yes, Jennifer! SOOO amazing. Very strongly for at least two weeks - after that it was fainter, but still there.
DeleteDo you add the glitter before or after you cook them? I want to try this with my 2.5 year old - she LOVES glitter :)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely after - and after they've cooled. YAY! She will LOVE this then! Glitter is the best!!!! :)
Delete