We absolutely LOVE Salt Dough. Our Salt Dough Recipe is incredibly simple to prepare and work with, and there are countless wonderful creations you can make from it. A few years back, we crafted a Yarn Wrapped Rainbow Cloud.. which encouraged us to try making a Salt Dough Rainbow Heart Cloud Mobile as well! It makes a beautiful, happy decoration for a bedroom or window! Why not try our Salt Dough Rainbow Hearts today? This project belongs to our Best Makes Ever series! Watch for more new ideas being added regularly!
These Saltdough Rainbow Clouds come from a TV series commissioned by Sky Kids 18 months ago. We can now share them with you once more here on Red Ted Art! Have fun! The series was co hosted with Arty Crafty Kids.
Salt Dough Recipe:
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1/2 cup salt
- Up to 1/2 cup warm water
To create your Salt Dough Rainbow Hearts Cloud, you will also need:
- either cardboard for making a stencil or a blunt knife to “shape your cloud”
- small heart-shaped cookie cutters
- a chopstick for making holes
- paints
- sharpies (for the kawaii cloud’s face)
- baker’s twine/string for joining and hanging
You can view the Rainbow Cloud video here, or use the detailed instructions below!
How to create a Salt Dough Rainbow Hearts Cloud Mobile
Begin by preparing your salt dough
Time needed:10 minutes
Salt Dough is quick and wonderfully easy to prepare! Here is a brief outline of the process. Complete information and step-by-step photographs are provided below!
- Combine the ingredients gradually
Mix the flour and salt, then slowly pour in the water. You might not require ALL of the water, so avoid adding it all at once.
- Continue kneading
Knead until the dough becomes smooth
- Shape your salt dough pieces
- Place in the oven
Bake in the oven at 120 C for 3-4 hours.
At the start, push my chopsticks back into the holes so they remain open. You can also rotate your salt dough approximately every half hour, although this is not absolutely essential. - Add paint
After drying, your salt dough can be painted.
- Display
Join your pieces with string and hang them.
Creating Salt Dough Clouds and Hearts
After preparing the dough, roll it until it is roughly 1/2 cm thick, or use whatever thickness feels suitable to you.
If preferred, create a cardboard cloud stencil using a cereal box. Alternatively, cut the cloud shape freehand.
Whichever method you choose, once you have a cloud, use some word to smooth the edges.
Use a chopstick to make one hole at the top for hanging and five holes along the bottom for the rainbow (we are using just 5 colours because they create a nicer symmetry).
Use a cookie cutter to cut 5 small hearts—but I suggest making 7, just in case one cracks. It can happen!
Remember to pierce some holes as well!
Bake the salt dough shapes
Arrange everything on a baking tray and bake at 120C for 3-4 hours.
I prefer to rotate the salt dough pieces occasionally so both sides dry properly. I also like to “reopen” the holes to prevent them from sealing.
Paint the salt dough cloud and rainbow hearts
With acrylic paints, decorate your cloud and hearts in the colours you prefer. Gloss enamels are also an excellent option.
If you plan to hang it in a window, allow one side to dry before painting the other, so it looks attractive from either direction. This also helps to lightly “seal” the Salt Dough.
When everything is completely dry, draw kawaii details on the salt dough cloud using a posca pen or sharpie.
Hang your salt dough rainbow hearts
At last, position your hearts in sequence, making sure they do not hang too low. We arranged ours in an upside-down triangle.
Cut string pieces to the required lenght. Use a longer piece for the middle hear and shorter pieces for those at the ends.
Thread the string through and tie each piece at the chosen length.
Once finished, attach one additional thread for hanging.
Your cloud salt dough mobile is now complete. Beautiful! Enjoy!!
You might also enjoy our Yarn Wrapped Rainbow Cloud here:
Find more Salt Dough Craft Ideas here:
For more projects from this collection, visit the Best Makes Ever tag as I continue adding new ideas. For the moment, here are the Pirate Finger Puppets:
