A Mother’s Day Gift

This mother’s day, use salt dough to make an extra special ornament for Mom!

There are two different ways to make these adorable keepsake ornaments: a fingerprint family, and a fingerprint heart. Both are adorable and will capture Mom’s heart!

If you want to surprise Mom completely then the fingerprint heart is the way to go, if you want Mom to get in on the fun, then the family of fingerprints is extra sweet.

Begin by making your salt dough!

To make salt dough you will need:

• 2 Cups Flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 3/4 cup of lukewarm water (approximately- you will want to add it a little at a time to get the desired consistency)
• Optional: You can add peppermint to the water, or Cinnamon & nutmeg to the flour if you want your dough to smell nice!

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Begin by mixing the flour and salt well with a whisk or a fork. Slowly add the water stirring well as you go. Knead the dough with your hands until you make a nice ball. It should not be sticky. It should feel very similar to play dough.

Roll your dough out with a rolling pin, about 1/4 of an inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut the shape you would prefer. Make sure to make a shape that is big enough to fit two fingerprints for the heart ornament, or your family’s fingerprints on the other ornament. I chose a circle. It was the easiest shape to work with.

Fingerprint Family:

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After you have cut out your shape, each person should gently place his index finger into the dough until the shape of this fingertip is impressed in the salt dough. Make a straight line of everyone’s prints.

Fingerprint Heart

To make the fingerprint heart, you will need to use your pinkie fingers. Place one pinkie finger into the dough at a diagonal angle with the base of your pinkie at the base of your circle. Then place your other pinkie diagonally (facing the opposite direction) so that the base of your two prints meet and the top of your two prints face away from each other- creating a heart shape.

Place you shapes on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 200°F (100°C) for 1-2 hours or until the dough becomes hard and whitish in appearance.

Allow the ornament to cool completely. Once it is cooled, you can add your fingerprints.

Fingerprint Family:

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Just cover your index finger in acrylic paint and press down into the same print that you made originally. Each person can add their own print. You can use different colors to highlight each persons individual print. Lastly you will want to add the names of your little bunch with a thin line permanent pen.

Fingerprint Heart

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Paint your pinkie tip and then add your fingerprints to the ornament in the same way that you placed them originally. You can write your child’s name on the front of the ornament, under the heart, or you can write it on the back: Name, Age, Year, Occasion.

Allow your ornaments to dry completely before wrapping them up for Mom!

Happy Creating! We love you Moms!