How to Make a Salt Dough Name Banner

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Gather the ingredients for salt dough.

   You will need flour, water, and salt for the dough, as well as food coloring, paint, or natural coloring like cinnamon if you want the dough to be colored.
   
   You will also need a large mixing bowl and spoon, as well as any decorative add-ons like beads, glitter, or acrylic paint.
2. 2

   Step 2: Make the dough.

   Mix together two cups of flour and one cup of salt, and then add 3/4 cup of lukewarm water.If you want to color the dough, add a few drops of food coloring or paint, or use a spice or other food item with a strong color like cinnamon, chocolate, or curry powder, ground coffee, or beetroot juice.
   
   Add glitter for a little extra pizazz. , Place it on a hard, flat, non-stick surface like a cutting board or silicon rolling sheet on your table.
   
   Knead the dough using the palm of your hand until it has a smooth, uniform consistency.
   
   As you're kneading, add flour if the dough is too sticky and water if it's too dry. , For example, if your name is Ian, that's three letters, so divide the dough into three pieces. , Use one piece of dough for each letter.
   
   To shape the dough, you can roll it out with a rolling pin and cut it into the appropriate letter.
   
   Or try rolling it into a snake and shaping the snake into the letter.
   
   This is particularly good for rounded letters like O, although it will work for any letter.
   
   If you want, you can then flatten the dough using your palm or a rolling pin.
   
   Try to make all the letters the same thickness so that they bake evenly. , These holes should be about 1/8" to 1/4" in diameter so that they won't close up as the clay dries.
   
   Use a wooden chopstick, toothpick, skewer, or anything else that seem suitable to poke the holes.
   
   You can even insert a bead with a large hole into the dough and clean all the dough out of the center so that the bead rings the hole. , Use beads and glitter to decorate the letters, or draw, trace, or press patterns into the dough for a more subtle look.
   
   Don't paint just yet, though
   - that will happen once the letters dry. , Loosely cover them with tin foil if you want.
   
   Keep a close eye on the letters as they bake, and turn down the heat if they start to brown.
   
   Bake until they are dry all the way through; they should sound hollow when you tap them.
   
   Once you remove the letters from the oven, let them dry completely before you proceed. , Use acrylic paint for the best results, and paint them with whatever colors and designs strike your fancy.
   
   Add more beads, stickers, foam shapes, ribbon or bows, or anything else you like to finish off the letters.
   
   Once again, allow the letters to dry thoroughly before proceeding. , Use a long piece of twine or strong ribbon to do this.
   
   Pull the ribbon through each hole you poked in the top of each letter.
   
   Arrange the letters in the appropriate order on the string so that when you stretch the string out horizontally or hang it on the wall, the letters spell your name.
   
   Tie knots on either side of each letter, or tie small loops around each hole the string runs through, in order to secure the letters on the string so that they don't slide left or right.
   
   Make sure to space the letters out appropriately before you do this.
3. 3

   Step 3: Knead the dough.

4. 4

   Step 4: Divide the dough into pieces based on the letters in your name.

5. 5

   Step 5: Shape the dough into the letters of your name.

6. 6

   Step 6: Poke holes in the top of each letter.

7. 7

   Step 7: Decorate!

8. 8

   Step 8: Bake the beads at 350 degrees for 30 minutes to an hour.

9. 9

   Step 9: Paint the letters and add any more decorations.

10. 10

    Step 10: String together all the letters.

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