We are almost in October, so if you are anything like me you're already really excited for Halloween! It's a time of year when you can enjoy lots of themed crafts and activities with the children. Following on from our much loved Snowman Keepsake using our Easy Salt Dough Recipe, we have been busy crafting for Halloween.
It's amazing what ideas come your way while you are trying to get to sleep of a night time! We make salt dough often and I was thinking about the keepsakes I already had on the side and different ways to theme them. Neve often paints her own and creates as she pleases. While she was busy out in the garden with her Dad chopping wood ready for our log burner, I had a quiet 10 minutes and got the acrylic paints out....
First of all lets go back to the beginning. You will need to make a batch of Salt Dough. I have made a really simple, easy to follow recipe to make the perfect batch. The children can help follow the instructions, measure out the ingredients and until the boiling hot water needs to be added they can be fully involved. Adults will need to take over adding the hot water and wait until the temperature is suitable for little hands before they help kneed the dough together and roll it out to make the keepsakes.
Follow the instructions when drying the dough out. Keep the temperature low and remember to check regularly to see how its drying out. Once dried, store in a dry place. The kitchen isn't suitable as the keepsake will begin to soak up moisture in the air and become flimsy again.
When you are ready to decorate, you will need to use acrylic paints. Water based paints will not work. The water absorbs into the keepsake and will make it doughy again.
Lets take a look at the process I went through to create the keepsake:
I made the shade of blue by mixing a dab of white in with my deepest blue. I wanted it to be like a night sky but I didn't want it too dark so I couldn't see the details of the black hat and outfits I knew I would be painting on the fingers. Once it was painted it reminded me of our Snowman Keepsake.
The ghost was pretty simple to do. Its a design children may enjoy painting? I kept all the fingers pretty simple and went on to paint the stacked pumpkins next, followed by the witch. Frankenstein was also underway. I needed a little inspiration, so I did a Google search to see a picture of him. I did make myself laugh though as I searched Frankincense. Woops!
I used a chalk marker to write 'trick or treat' but later went over it with a white permanent marker which made it stand out more. The final finger I started to turn into a gravestone with R.I.P on the front - again using the white marker pen.
....and this is the finished keepsake. So pleased with how it turned out. What crafts do you have planned for Halloween? Do get in touch with us as we love to see what you have been getting up to! We also love sharing on our social media what you have been busy making and creating!
Lets take a look at the craft in action:
If you are looking for some other lovely Halloween themed crafts and activities for the children, here are a handful of my top picks -
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