Make clay while the sun shines

I love it when the little ones create artistic pieces that are rough around the edges. The perfect imperfection of sculptures that bend and bow, and colours that don’t conform to expectations and remain inside the lines, reminds me of a creative side that we sadly seem to lose as we get older. Watching children create their own world of purple seas and green suns is fascinating and something I will never grow tired of. This craft activity is a terrific opportunity for the little ones to create an artwork they can hold in their hands, or give to someone special, that looks better because it is perfectly imperfect.

Don’t be fooled by the name though, you don’t actually need a sunny day to make these as it doesn’t need to be air-dried – I just couldn’t resist the play on words. I hope you’ll make these with your little ones too and would love to see photos if you do!

What you’ll need

– 1 cup of salt
– 1 cup of flour
– 1/2 cup room temperature water

What you’ll do

Mix the ingredients all in a bowl then turn out onto a bench and knead the salt dough until it’s consistent throughout

You can add food colouring to the dough as you’re kneading it or – my personal preference – leave it plain to paint at the end

The salt dough can be used to create shapes or, make your own bowl as pictured

The easy way to make a bowl is to wrap an existing bowl in plastic film then spread the dough over the film to cover the bottom and outer sides of the bowl. Allow to air dry until partially set then remove the bowl and film. Place your clay creation in the oven at 100c/210F until it hardens.

You can also air dry your clay creation and need to allow 48 hours for it to set. Drying times will vary depending on conditions.

Once it’s dry you’ll have a bowl that is pale like the one pictured above. It’s pretty as is but more fun to let the little ones paint it inside and out. There’s only one thing that could make this more fun – joining them to make one too and letting yourself be taken back to the days when you were little and didn’t colour inside the lines. Happy creating!