Dough is delightful and you can make such fun characters from this very cheap craft. As you can use most utensils that you will have in your kitchen.
Ingredients
2 level mugs of Plain flour.
1 level mug of Cooking salt.
¾ mug of tepid water.
Method
Making the dough
Sieve the flour into a bowl, and then add the salt. Mix this until it is all blended then start to add the water just dribbling it in and mixing it all the while. Get to the point where the dough is forming into a ball.
Turn it onto a floured board and then begin to knead for about 10 minutes. You need to get the salt to dissolve to make a smooth dough and when it is right for modelling you should be able to roll a small ball and there be no cracks but just very smooth.
If it does crack, continue kneading and if necessary add a few drops of water. Alternatively, if you need to add more flour do so, but this recipe I find works very well.
You are then ready to create your dough character or whatever it is you wish to make.
Making your dough character
Roll and cut dough on a pastry board and then when you are building up the design of your choice you will work onto a baking sheet, making sure that it is completely flat as you will want your model to have a flat back for hanging.
To hang, either insert a paper clip in the top of the head of a character leaving enough space to threat ribbon or hook directly onto the hook in the wall. If making plaques or wreaths I simply make two holes with a drinking straw, and then thread it with either brightly coloured ribbon or raffia.
When your project is completed, put it into your oven on the lowest baking heat possible:
- For range cookers set it to S on the dial for slow cooking.
- For electric/gas cookers use the lowest setting.
- In an Aga, dough cooks wonderfully in the warming oven.
Pop it into the cooker before you go to bed. And when you wake up you will have these wonderful creations ready to paint.
I then check to see if my dough is cooked properly, I do this by tapping the back with a metal knife, if it sounds hard and solid clacky (this is the best way I can describe this) then it is done, if it has a hollow ring to it, then it is not, so pop it back into the oven and check every ten minutes. When done switch off the oven and leaving your dough craft inside to cool down.
Painting and varnishing
You are then ready to paint. Enjoy your painting and you will see little characters come to life. When you have finished leave your character to dry. Once it has dried then you need to start varnishing to prevent any moisture getting into the dough which will make it soften and crack. Each coat of varnish wil requires about 6 hours to dry.
Varnishing your character makes the colours vibrant and the character's expressions more vivid and your little model or character will jump to life. This the part of dough craft that I love, seeing all your hard work become a reality.
I always use yacht varnish, which you can buy at any D.I.Y. store. To varnish your character, just dip your brush into the top of the varnish and apply to your model. Don't overload your brush with varnish as you will not achieve a smooth finish when it dries.
Apply 3 coats front and back allowing to dry between each. Once the last coat has dried, you are ready to hang your design.
Hanging and caring for your character
Make sure you hang it somewhere where it is not too cold. If your dough project should soften, pop it in the airing cupboard or for a few days for it to harden.
WARNING! Never, ever put a painted and varnished project back into the oven as it will give off toxic fumes.
If you would like to know any more about Dough Craft please do email me. I would love to hear from you!