20.11.11

Salt Dough Craft Instructions - Papaya Fruit School Project

Salt Dough Craft
My daughter goes to a wonderful school but sometimes I go crazy trying to manage her school projects and everything! 
For her 2nd language they have the theme fruits-- well sounds reasonable doesnt it? Well, her particular project was the fruit "Papaya" .
She had to take a chart ,scrapbook or model on the Papaya and speak about it in Hindi. 
For my international friends India is a very diverse country and has more languages than any other country in the world with an amazing 800 languages !![Yeah I think even my Indian friends wont know that fact!!] Hindi is the one language many know how to speak in India but its not my native tongue and I  had a tough time  teaching a 5 year old the wondrous properties of the Papaya fruit in Hindi!
To compensate for possible inadequacies in her "talk" I thought I would put my heart into the creative aspect of it and we made a life size Papaya fruit model using salt dough.
       Salt Dough Craft Instructions
       Make your salt dough
       Recipe for Salt Dough 
       1 cup Plain Flour[ Maida]  +1/2 cup Salt + 1/2 cup water[approx] 
       Knead well only adding as much water as you need.The right consistency is when the dough does not have cracks and does not stick to your fingers.
        Small salt dough projects can be made with the dough only.
      To make large projects make the inner core from Aluminium foil [ you can recycle a bit of used Aluminium foil packaging here]. I made a hollow ovoid shape for our cut Papaya fruit and 2 hollow ovoids over which I again wrapped Aluminium foil for our whole Papaya fruit.

Salt Dough Craft
       Roll out and mold a sheet of salt dough [ours is around 4 mm thick] over your Aluminium foil core.
       Bake it at the lowest setting[ 150 C if your oven has it] of your oven for a period ranging from 45 mins to 2 hours. In my oven our salt dough gets done in 30-40 mins most of the time.When its done your salt dough craft should sound hard on tapping [ like you are tapping on wood!]. 
Salt Dough Craft
      Cool your salt dough project in the oven itself as sudden change of temperature can let cracks appear in your salt dough craft.
       Paint your slat dough craft with acrylic paint once it has cooled down. Do not use water colors as you risk getting your salt dough craft go all lumpy and gooey!
Salt Dough Craft
       Couple of coats of varnish can help your salt dough craft last long. I didnt apply varnish on this project as I didnt have varnish at home and didnt have time to go buy it!
Salt Dough Craft
       With the leftover salt dough we made lots of decorations for our Christmas tree using playdough cutters. The angel in the right hand bottom corner was made free hand by my 5 year old! Small objects such as shown below do not need an aluminium foil core.
Salt Dough Craft
       A fruit needs a basket doesnt it!So we made a fruit basket by decorating a steel tray with paper flowers and leaves.Here you can see my little one gluing punched paper leaves to her fruit basket! She is full of concentration to get the position just right!!
Salt Dough Craft
       The flowers are punchcraft flowers with the orange centers recycled from medication pamphlets! 
Punchcraft Flowers
      Here is the close up of our Punchcraft flowers.
Punched flowers
       Our Cut papaya looked a bit odd so we added  seeds to it using black rhinestones.Here is my little one gluing the "seeds".
Salt Dough Craft
       I Printed out 2 real Papaya leaves from the net and drew free hand some more leaves based on the shape.My daughter had fun coloring the leaves in a 2 tone fashion!
Salt Dough Craft
        Our Papaya project was a big hit in her Hindi class and I felt all the effort and trouble was worth it when I saw the  pride and happiness in my daughters face when she came home from school beaming and proudly showed me the "5 stars" and "sticker" she had got for her talk!! I also got lots of queries from her teachers on how to make it! 
              I hope our story and instructions will help you in some way for maybe a school project, home decor,toy making or simply to have fun crafting.Do leave me your comments
     Here are links to more school projects we have done : School Projects

80 comments:

  1. Fabulous and great.
    i made one for thanks giving .i used black pepper instead of rhinestones /the one you made is really lovely .congrats to the junior and senior .

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  2. that is so awsome, she looks like she's really into it!, wish her good luck !!!
    Paula

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  3. doc... u and prisha are the awesomest duo ever really...!!

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  4. Awesome creative project. Like ur daughter's involvement too in it.

    Sudha
    sudha-kalra.blogspot.com
    http://sudha-kalra.blogspot.com/p/shop.html

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  5. wow Sonia and DD - nice way to present an assignment. God bless her for all her future projects.

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  6. Hi Doctor:) Awesome :) I have seen salt dough projects earlier but didnt have any idea about the make.Thanks for the easy step by step tutorial:) The little projects are sooooooo cute.. The basket looks beautiful with bright orange colour and green colour and You have started Christmas Decorations soon ?? I am yet to start..

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  7. wow what an amazing project. you rock.

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  8. Sonia
    Wonderful, wonderful!!
    What a great project and story to go with it.
    Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving such great comments.
    Myrna

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  9. Angelin I too first thought of black peppercorns but our papaya is huge and I didnt want to waste the peppercorns!
    Paula Thank You so much for your wishes and loving comments
    Khush Thank You for coining the word "awesomest" for us!
    Sudha I always try to involve her in her school projects and for this one she was there throughout!
    Nityakalyani Thank You
    Merlyn yeah tree decorating is a big affair in our house even though I am not a christian we celebrate Christmas!
    Dee Thank You for the support
    Myrna as always such kind words from you..Thank You

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  10. Wowwww.....u blew me away each time with ur wonderful projects. Lovely ...doc

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  11. Wow! This is fantastic Sonia. Thank you for the instructions on how to make it, very informative as usual. Maybe one day I will get to make this!

    Judex

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  12. oh.. I never heard of this art... Thanks for introducing me to another type of craft... Prisha is looking to cute while gluing the seeds... god bless her...

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  13. From Sonia to Sonia
    I know about that recipe, I always try to do diferents crafs to help my children with the Homework Project so I understand you.
    The other recipe I did on other project is Cold Porcelain (in spashin Porcelanicron you can did with Corn Starch "Fecula de Maiz" other person call "Maicena". Of course you can do cooking recipes too.) May be you know about cold porcelain.
    I did a search for you and your visitors about Cold Porcelain with receipe:
    http://coldporcelaintutorials.blogspot.com/p/cp-recipes.html
    You can do other search to see a lot of info about this.
    Amazing Creation! Congrats!
    Thanks for always sharing amazing creation.
    Greetings from Puerto Rico
    -Sony
    Sonia-Studio60

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  14. Its a cool idea for making home decore stuff! you can make some fruits in a basket & place these at your dining table, so they will look like real fruits in a basket:)..so many ideas..hmmm
    thanks for sharing

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  15. your daughter always has some amazing school assignments, I can't believe she had to give a talk about a fruit in another language! Seems very cool though :) The 5 year olds that I worked with always LOVED to make playdough at school, and we would add food coloring drops so they could make it whatever color they wanted :)

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  16. WOW! This is so cool Sonia! I love how you get your daughter so involved!!

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  17. Well done mum & daughter. "Bahut accha papita banaya. Dekhne ko mittaa lagta hai aur khane ko dil kar raha hai!Although it's not my favorite fruit." (Didn't know how to say the last sentence in Hindi)I agree with you, the school projects get the mum's working on it too. Thank goodness my 2 older ones have no more projects. Just 3 yrs to go with my youngest one.

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  18. Fantastic project Sonia.. Your daughter is also very talented..Loz

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  19. Красиво получилось! Интересная идея!!! Спасибо!

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  20. This turned out so great and looks so close to original..great work.

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  21. oh wow these are fabulous .. i love the papaya .. they look good enough to eat
    Lisa x

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  22. Oh wow...that is so terrific and lifelike. You both have done and amazing job. 800 languages....that is so huge. Slack me knows English and thats about it. On average how many languages would people in India know well?

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  23. This is an incredible project! So pretty. Very vibrant and tropical. Your daughter is definitely very creative like you.

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  24. This is one of my favourite fruits and I love your creativity!

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  25. Hi Dr Sonia.....You are soooooooooo creative, you finished papaya looks awesome! Love the story too.

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  26. Fantastic Doc! Sometimes I am glad I do not have to dish out projects like this for my kids! :P And I have three boys! LOL!! But this is a great project!

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  27. Awesome creation Sonia. You can even add black mustard seeds for the papaya seed effect.

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  28. Wonderful project and loved the involovement by ur kid....Awesomeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Doc

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  29. Oh my, this is quite a project and I can see the concentration on your daughter's face. I'm sure she really was a hit and was so proud of her stars and sticker.
    That was certainly an interesting fact you gave us about the 800 languages. So, I learned more than making a Papaya model.

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  30. I think there can be nothing more satsifying than instilling pride in your children. Great job Sonia, it looks awesome!

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  31. You have made a new fan for this craft, Thanks so much doctor for the detailed information. Your little one looks so happy to craft.

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  32. Wow, Dr. Sonia,
    You are surely going to get "Mommy of the year" award for the wonderful projects you design with your lovely daughter! I saw your pretty flower tutorial over on MIM and wanted to come over and let you know. I got more of a treat for the visit. Have a great week!

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  33. hey sonia..
    its really wonderful..grt craft for children and also useful to decorate our house..i love ur creativity its versatile and easy for everyone.. i love ur work

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  34. awesome Sonia!! The papaya looks real!! and sending my love to Prisha!

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  35. This is super Awesome Sonia! It had to be the most beautiful and wonderful project in the entire class and I am sure the teachers wouldn't have seen anything like it before. Kudos to you and your little champ!

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  36. like all your work this one is really superb too...i am always amazed at the effort you take in making all your daughters school projects...for me you are the worlds most dedicated mother ever!!!and a huge inspiration to me:)

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  37. Anonymous21/11/11

    Wow! awesome sonia.. Looks great.. You have great patience to make it to the proper shape and size! you rock!

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  38. Ah Sonia, what to say, love each element added in this project. Amazingly excellent! :)

    Cheers,
    Durga
    http://durgasartgallery.blogspot.com

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  39. Sonia....Its so wonderful piece..!! I love ur daughter..how cute the picture she is working for her project...!! wishing all the very best to her...nd love ur dedication with art and craft too....

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  40. OMG this almost look like a real one! Your daughter is so cute...which school does she go to?
    I saw the spoon flowers too....amazing!!!

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  41. Oh you just brought back some wonderful memories. One Christmas when we were kids, we made salt dough ornaments for the tree. My brother, who has Downs Syndrome, made a fish and put a Santa hat and beard on it. I went crazy over his finished ornament and he gave it to me for Christmas that year. It's got to be 25 years old, and it's still on my tree every year. I absolutely love your papaya project. The addition of the rhinestones kicked up past 5 stars I think! The bright basket you decorated to match it is fabulous....your little one did a great job coloring those leaves. I see why she was so proud! Great job on this! I need to make some ornaments with my kids. Maybe I'll make a couple batches of salt dough and have them ready for the after Thanksgiving feast. I forgot how much fun this was. You made my day again, Dr. Sonia!

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  42. Oh my Where does she get this creativeness from ___ I think maybe her very talented and creative mother. Those look yummy enough to eat.
    have a great day-- big ((hugs))
    DIANA L.
    http://dianamlarson.blogspot.com/

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  43. wow Sonia that looked so much fun to share together and an awesome piece too, your posts always make me smile and the sheer difference to every other blog I visit, I am always watching your work
    Hugs Kate xx

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  44. Dr. Sonia, Wow! What a fantastic project! I love the pictures of your daughter crafting, they show the dedication and intensity that she puts into her crafting! Growing up my brother and sisters and I would make salt dough Christmas ornaments, it is so much fun! Thank you for sharing! Hugs,

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  45. Sonia, what an awesome job!! Your daughter is so lucky to have such a talented Mom to get her talent from!!
    What a great project!!

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  46. Fantastic project, beautiful papaya and fruit basket, your daughter looks like she has had so much fun, congratulations with her five stars, so well deserved and five stars for her mum too, take careX:)

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  47. Anonymous22/11/11

    Very cool! I love it!

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  48. What a clever project- love the rhinestones for the seeds! I hope you will display all of the fun ornaments when you are done making them!

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  49. Awesome project! how such wonderful ideas flashes in ur mind...very creative.

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  50. Where do you find the time? I am always amazed at the variety of things that you try!!
    Hugs,
    Antonella :-)

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  51. this s simply superb sonia...the idea s g8 and cute with ur daughter ma

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  52. BRILLIANT, Sonia, how wonderful. And what easy instructions.

    Btw, I have made salt dough stuff and air dried it... it worked ok for me.

    I love the papaya and the seeds. SUPER!

    xxx Monica

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  53. This is such an awesome project! I love that you are such a hands-on mummy! Your daughter's learning so much from you! You should be proud!:)

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  54. Ingenious! They look so real! The black rhinestones are looking like real seeds! Working with Salt dough is real fun!

    We made Christmas glitter ornaments!

    http://creativitymypassion.blogspot.com/2011/11/kids-christmas-craft-glitter-salt-dough.html

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  55. Sonia you two did one fab job on this project! So real looking and love the basket!! I think this project would make learning hindi a lot more fun :)

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  56. Wow Sonia - you did a brilliant job! And such a lovely helper you had there! Karima

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  57. What an impressive and fun project. It looks like a really papaya!! Nice work ladies!!! I love how you used up the left over dough, brilliant!!

    Laurie
    serenityscrappers

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  58. WOW! Dr Sonia! Way to go!
    Great looking papayas!
    I was looking through your blog, and wondered if you had a tutorial for the origami Christmas tree on the awesome pop up thank you card for the teacher!?

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  59. Gail Thank You -- I am actually planning a post on the origami tree tutorial-- shall post it as soon as I get some photos taken.

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  60. Anonymous28/11/11

    stunned!! this is simply super impressive!! wow!!

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  61. Awesome project. Looks so real.
    http://lorisartsyobsession.blogspot.com/

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  62. amazing .. u have really done very wonderful job making papaya.. i have never seen before

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  63. This is mind blowing!!!Lovely tat u involve ur kid in these craft works,help her creativity grow more n more!!I want a help from u,i have to make a aarti plate by myself for my cousin's wedding.I searched everywhere in Jayanagar,all i found is very small one.I want to do it on plastic plate or stainless steel,i've bought 3D liners(fevicryl hobby ideas),but cudnt find a good plate till nw:(...also i don knw whether the 3D liner wud stick to the stainless steel plate??what kind of paint i should use for stainless steel?how to make it water proof?is glue n gloss enough if i use a plastic plate??wedding is on apr25th...need ur help!!!Sorry if i've disturbed u ;-) cheers!!

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    Replies
    1. Geetu we dont have the aarti plate system in Kerala where I am from so I have no idea how it even looks like. Why dont you experiment a bit and see if the 3 D liner sticks. Acrylic will work on steel and if you want a quick job nowadays spray paints are available in paint shops-- they are quick and easy to use and the paint brush strokes wont be visible. Imported spray paints are more expensive .If you get hobby idea spray paints they are cheaper. I dont know if glue n gloss is enough as I have not worked with it for a water proofing purpose. However Modpodge is available in India at many staples shops and it gives a waterproofing effect.All the best for your project and do let me know who your experience was

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    2. If you are lucky you can get spray paints in golden, bronze and lovely copper shades

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    3. Thanks a lot for the ideas!!!I thought u r from Bangalore sorry!!I should go for hobby ideas spray paints and modpodge from staples!!Thanks again,will let u knw once i'm done :)cheers!!

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    4. Thanks a lot for the ideas!!!I thought u r basically from Bangalore sorry!!I should go for hobby ideas spray paints and modpodge from staples!!Thanks again,will let u knw once i'm done :)cheers!!

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  64. Plain flour mentioned here is rice flour/maida/wheat??

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  65. Hi,

    You said that you find it difficult managing your daughters school projects. But I must say from all the work that i have seen, the other parents in your daughters school must be having a tough time.
    That is such a creative one....!!!

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  66. Wonderful idea...the pain you have taken ...wow hats off. Being a workign mother where do you get time ..and most importanly ideas ?

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  67. Anonymous24/9/12

    Hello Dr Sonia
    Got into your blog quite accidentally.What an amazing woman you are. Hats Off Doc. I liked this idea of saltdough about which I came to know for the first time. I used it to make my Ganesh this year. Thanks a lot. This is such a wonderful site for moms like me. Thank you

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  68. Anonymous24/9/12

    Hello Dr Sonia
    Got into your blog quite accidentally.What an amazing woman you are. Hats Off Doc. I liked this idea of saltdough about which I came to know for the first time. I used it to make my Ganesh this year. Thanks a lot. This is such a wonderful site for moms like me. Thank you

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  69. Hi Sonia.... you not only teach us how to do the crafts but also teaches us how a mom should dedicated herself for her kid. Despite of sayin "Dont disturb me, Im busy" you are molding your to be a creative. Hats off to you :)

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    Replies
    1. Jeevitha you are so kind...like every other mother I do have my crazy" dont disturb me" kinda moments but I always feel guilty about that...but when I craft I always let my kiddo join in!

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  70. Awesome... Simply Superb... I don't know what superlatives I should use for your creativity... Your projects carry emotions also. The way you dedicate your time to your kid, the way your kid participates, and finally the way the project comes out.. everything is praise-worthy. Of course projects should be excellent for, their ingredients being your expertise, patience, dedication and most importantly your LOVE...

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  71. Hi Sonia, I made some salt dough flowers using this post as the inspiration. Please do check it out!!
    http://moxiecraftie.blogspot.in/2013/03/salt-dough-flowers.html

    -Berina

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  72. Dr plsssssss help.
    My oven has gone kaput. How do I bake my Ganesha? :( :(

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