Make these easy, 3 ingredient Salt Dough Easter Egg decorations with the kids this Easter! This simple play recipe uses just a few items from the kitchen cupboards and takes minutes to mix up, and the finished models last for ever, making a lovely keepsake to treasure and use each year.
If you’ve got some spare time over the school break then these salt dough Easter egg decorations are super easy to make but also can fill a whole morning or afternoon with busy creativity- my favourite way to keep kids busy and engaged when the screens are constantly calling!
Ingredients:
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup fine salt
1/2 cup warm water
large bowl or stand mixer
spoon
kids’ paint
paintbrushes
Method:
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl or stand mixer, then add the warm water slowly, mixing to form a dough. Knead by hand or use the dough hook to quickly combine the ingredients to make a non-sticky, smooth dough, similar in consistency to play dough. If too sticky add a little more flour and salt, if too dry add a trickle of warm water at a time until it is just right.
Once smooth, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough onto some baking paper taped to the table top (this makes the models much easier to move later!) and then use the egg cutter to cut as many egg shapes as you can.
Now put these onto a baking tray and put them in the oven at 100 ‘ C (212 ‘ F) for 2-3 hours, turning them over half way through drying. It is really important to keep the oven low- this is a drying and hardening process rather than cooking! If the temperature is too high the salt dough will bubble and crack.
Once out of the oven and completely cooled, spread out the plain eggs with paint and paintbrushes, ready to paint and decorate. To mix beautiful pastel hues of paint, simply start with white paint in each section of the palette and then add a very small amount of each colour to each section, mixing to create your new shades. Offering a pre-mixed, limited range of colours like this can eliminate the muddy tones children often end up creating by mixing all the colours at once!
Look together at patterned Easter eggs in books, art work and online and choose some simple patterns to create. Spots and dots, stripes and lines, zig-zags and wiggles all look fantastic! It can really help to paint the background fully first BEFORE adding a design over the top, so you could suggest this as you create together.
Once finished and the paint has dried, thread twine or thin ribbon through the holes and hang your finished creations on a white Easter tree or a natural branch placed in a vase.
You can now add these to your Spring decorations box and bring them out each year to re-use as a lovely family keepsake! Be sure to store them in a dry place so that they don’t absorb moisture and get damp over the Winter.
I would absolutely LOVE to know if you try these salt dough Easter egg decorations. Do tag me on instagram or leave me a comment below this post to let me know if you do! Enjoy.