I can't exactly remember the first time I encountered anything made with salt dough. I have a vague memory of being with my aunt at some sort of community center when I was a kid and she was taking a class where it was used to make things like woven bread bowls and precious moments-like naked people; garlic presses used to make hair for them from the dough. Everything got baked, er....um.... burnt, and then it was all coated with heavy layers of shellac. I think I tried to eat it .
Needless to say, this humble little dough has come a long way since then in it's ways to be transformed. This past December, I used it to make some little ornaments for our tree and just recently, I decided to make some more and turn it into buttons!
I made up a batch of salt dough, gathered up a couple of little cookie cutters, some burlap and a little button I had in my stash. I used these last two items to give a bit of pattern to my buttons. If you make these (or anything else with sd that you want to stamp) be sure to stamp your pattern into the dough before you cut it.
After they were stamped, I used a large paper clip to make the holes then cut them out. I baked them at 170 degrees for an hour then let them air dry for a couple of days. Once they were dry, I sanded off any rough bits and started painting them. I used two colors of acrylic paint; the base coat I just rubbed on with my finger and then once that was dry, I added a little water to the other color, brushed it over the entire button then wiped some off so that the base color would show through. Once that was dry, I finished them off with a coat of fast drying clear nail polish. I know...I'm high tech over here.
I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do with these little pretties just yet; I'm thinking about a fastening for a hand knitted wrap bracelet I'm working on or as a little somethin' somethin' on my packaging when someone purchases something from my shop. Oh yeah....I'm getting ready to launch my online store. Crazy right? Cool though. And super exciting! Keep a weathered eye...
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So cute. If you hadn't said they were salt dough, I wouldn't have known it from the picture. So... does this mean if I lose a button I can just make one? Hmmm....
ReplyDeletereally? i'll take it. and....i hadn't thought about it but you could certainly whip up a lost button replacement with this stuff. the finished product has a nice weight to it too.
DeleteHow cute are you? These are totally awesome:) I may just have to whip some up with my daughter and use them to embelish the banners we made for her birthday party next week. I would be so totally excited if you came over to link up at my party going on all weekend!
ReplyDeleteKim
http://too-much-time.com/2012/03/get-schooled-saturday-14-list-plan-it-giveaway.html
thanks so much, kim! i'd love to see your finished product which i know would be amazing. and thanks so much for the invite to your party ~ i'm all linked up!
DeleteCute buttons. BTW, I hope people enjoyed the pretzels at the pot luck!
ReplyDeletethanks, erika. as for the pretzels...all i took home was an empty bowl so i'm thinkin' they were a hit! super easy and extra yum! i'll definitely be making them again though next time i want to try butter or coconut oil...
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