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Luck O' The Irish to ya! Add a bit of Irish fun to your décor by making these salt dough Shamrocks and Rainbows Magnets. Easily turn the small shamrocks into pins for great Irish flare!

What you will need:

1 cup salt
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup water
green acrylic paint
gold glitter
paintbrush
acrylic paints in black, gold, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and purple
small heart shaped cookie cutter
knife
toothpick
pin back
craft magnets
white craft glue or hot glue


IMPORTANT NOTE: This recipe for salt dough makes a lot of projects. If you only plan on making a few, cut this recipe into fourths or in half.


If you make this project we'd love to see it! Just send your photos and comments to the editor and it may get published on our Facebook fan page!

What you do

Preheat oven to 250 F. Mix together, salt, flour, and water until a dough is formed. Knead the dough on a floured surface until the mixture is elastic and smooth. If dough is too sticky, sprinkle with flour, continue to do so until stickiness is gone. BE CAREFUL. Do not add too much flour, this will dry out the dough and will cause it to crack before you get a chance to bake it.

THIS DOUGH IS NOT EDIBLE, though it won't hurt you or your kids, it just won't taste very good!

Roll dough flat with a rolling pin, about 1/4" - 1/2" thick.

FOR SHAMROCKS:
Use cookie cutter to cut out hearts. You will need 3 hearts for each Shamrock.

Lay the hearts in a semi-circle, with sides touching, onto an ungreased cookie sheet (Use picture as a guide). Cut out a small stem from the dough and place underneath the tips of the hearts so that when they are drying, everything will stick together. If you have problems with the hearts sticking to the stem, you can "glue" them together by lightly brushing the undersides of the heart tips and the stem, with water.

FOR RAINBOW AND POT OF GOLD:
Trace the outline of a rainbow onto the dough. Carefully cut out the shape and place onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Using a toothpick, draw in the stripes of the rainbow - press heavily enough into the dough that the lines will stay in the dough but not heavily enough that it goes all the way through to the pan.

Cut out the pot. Place the pot over the right-hand edge of the rainbow.

For the coins, make small balls of dough and flatten into circles with your fingers. Place around the top of the pot and lay a few at the bottom of the pot, too. (Refer to picture)

Bake all for approximately 2 - 2.5 hours. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. For best results, allow to cool and dry overnight, or for at least 4 hours.

Paint the Shamrocks with one or two coats of green paint, enough to cover. Allow to dry in between coats. For the glitter Shamrocks, sprinkle with glitter while the paint is still wet. Let dry completely.

Paint the rainbow in order of colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.

Paint the coins gold; the pot black. Sprinkle glitter on the coins while the paint is still wet. Let dry completely.

FOR MAGNETS:
Glue a magnet to the backs of the Shamrocks. The rainbow will require more magnets due to weight.

FOR SHAMROCK PINS:
Glue a pin back to the back of the Shamrocks. Let dry completely before wearing.

What's Related:
Pot of Gold Treat Holders
Pot of Gold
Rainbow Magnet
Pom Pom Shamrock

About the Author
Tami Rose lives in North Carolina with her husband and 2 children. She is always on the lookout for fun, easy crafts that any age group can make. She is the Assistant Administrator on the FamilyCorner.com forums. You can find her there under the username of "ajrsmom". She is also the Assistant Editor for FamilyCorner.com and provides valuable support for the website.

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