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photo of blond girl wearing a handmade shamrock necklace made from salt dough

St. Patrick’s Day & Spring Bling

By Cindy Hopper

To make these special beads for St. Patrick’s Day and Spring… mix up some flour, salt, oil and water.

Blond girl wearing handmade shamrock salt dough necklace

Salt Dough Recipe

* 3 Cups flour
* 1 Cup salt
* 1 tablespoon oil
* 3/4  to 1 cup water
* Mix well and knead with hands.

Instructions

Begin making beads by rolling small pieces of dough between hands. Use a skewer to make a hole in the middle of the bead. Make the holes really large. The dough will shrink during baking.
overhead photo of girl's hands poking hole in salt dough bead
Cookie Cutters can be used to make pendants for the necklaces. To make the shamrock cut out three small hearts, press together and then add a piece of dough for the stem.
girl's hand making heart shape with salt dough
Once all the beads are made they need to be baked. Bake beads and pendants at 300 degrees for about an hour (turning once).
salt dough beads on a table
After the beads have been baked and cooled they are ready to paint. (We used acrylic paint.)
girl's hands painting salt dough beads
Once the paint has dried, give the beads a coat of clear spray paint.
spray paint in foreground and colorfully baked salt dough beads in background
Use a yarn needle to thread the beads onto crochet thread (what we used), embroidery floss or yarn. Placing a clip on the end will keep the beads from slipping off the end while stringing.
threading salt dough beads with thread and needle
Carefully thread the beads onto the thread. We used this opportunity to talk about pattern and symmetry.
girl's hands threading salt dough beads with needle
overhead photo of child threading salt dough beads
Place necklace around neck and tie in the back. Now you have some bling for spring too!
two young girls smiling and wearing their colorfully painted salt bead necklaces

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About the Author

Cindy Hopper

Cindy Hopper was fortunate to be raised in a family who appreciated the arts. This background led to a Bachelor’s Degree in Art Education. With a keen eye for design and color, Cindy has cont...

Cindy Hopper was fortunate to be raised in a family who appreciated the arts. This background led to a Bachelor’s Degree in Art Education. With a keen eye for design and color, Cindy has continued her love of art and is now passing her creative skills on to her three children. Cindy’s family and friends are the beneficiaries of her passion for fun and meaningful creative projects.

Cindy’s personal blog, Skip to My Lou, has taken her love of a project to new levels. Postings keep the family busy -– from testing new recipes for holiday treats to designing and building floats for a neighborhood parade to making fabric rolls to hold crayons to creating themed parties. Cindy seems to have an unending supply of ideas for gifts, parties and rainy days.

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