How To Make Salt Beads
I mentioned a few days ago about making leather beads, and what a great craft it is for children (as well as teens and adults!). Well today I want to pass along another type of beads that the quads and Jacob love to make -- salt beads. I make the "dough" ahead of time and put it in a zip lock bag so that it's ready when they come over and we have an "activity" time.
Recipe:
1/2 cup salt
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup cold water
(note if you want colored dough, put a few drops of food coloring into the cold water before mixing with salt and corn starch)
Mix ingredients together and "cook" over medium heat. Stir constantly until it is so thick you can't stir it any more. Remove from heat and when cool enough to handle, knead it like bread, then either begin making the beads or place into a zip lock bag and start another color.
To make the beads, pinch off a piece of dough the size of a small garden pea. Put in the palm of your hand and roll to form the bead. Make a hole in the center with a straight pin -- add more beads until the pin is full then place into a pin cushion and allow to dry for 24 hours. The beads are now ready to string onto carpet thread or similar weight thread.
NOTE: We give the kids a small amount of each color that we've made ahead of time. Then we let the kids make all kinds of small shapes - some are oval, some nearly square, some are just an odd "individual creation" beads. Because straight pins are a no-no for small children, we help them make holes with either small coffee stirrers, small straws. The beads can be taken off the stirrers / straws and put into their own individual small baking pans. When finished making the beads we put the beads in the oven on low heat for about 20-30 minutes while everybody enjoys a snack, or a short play period, then we come back to string the beads onto either carpet thread (for necklaces) or onto elastic thread (for bracelets) -- so they're able to wear their handiwork the same day.
Recipe:
1/2 cup salt
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup cold water
(note if you want colored dough, put a few drops of food coloring into the cold water before mixing with salt and corn starch)
Mix ingredients together and "cook" over medium heat. Stir constantly until it is so thick you can't stir it any more. Remove from heat and when cool enough to handle, knead it like bread, then either begin making the beads or place into a zip lock bag and start another color.
To make the beads, pinch off a piece of dough the size of a small garden pea. Put in the palm of your hand and roll to form the bead. Make a hole in the center with a straight pin -- add more beads until the pin is full then place into a pin cushion and allow to dry for 24 hours. The beads are now ready to string onto carpet thread or similar weight thread.
NOTE: We give the kids a small amount of each color that we've made ahead of time. Then we let the kids make all kinds of small shapes - some are oval, some nearly square, some are just an odd "individual creation" beads. Because straight pins are a no-no for small children, we help them make holes with either small coffee stirrers, small straws. The beads can be taken off the stirrers / straws and put into their own individual small baking pans. When finished making the beads we put the beads in the oven on low heat for about 20-30 minutes while everybody enjoys a snack, or a short play period, then we come back to string the beads onto either carpet thread (for necklaces) or onto elastic thread (for bracelets) -- so they're able to wear their handiwork the same day.
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