Salt Dough Bones

 

Who doesn't find a vase full of skeletal remains somewhat spooky?  A perfect addition to my Haunted Parlor.  I really liked these and these.  But neither was exactly what I wanted.  One was out of my budget.  The other too crafty.  Then, I remembered how versatile salt dough can be.  Perfect!  I could make what I wanted and at basically no cost.  I had everything I needed in my kitchen pantry.  

I used a mixture of:
   1 cup salt
   2 cups all purpose flour
   1 cup water 
First, I kneaded the mixture by hand.  Then, with wet hands, I rolled the dough on the counter, formed bones by hand, and transferred them to a cookie sheet.  I then baked them at 250 degrees for about 4 hours.  This batch made about eight 8" bones.   

Truth be told, I lost one of the bones to a microwave mishap.  I'd read that salt dough can be quickly dried in the microwave.  My shortcut attempt resulted in a burnt cracked mess.  The slow bake method worked worlds better for me.  Time consuming, but worth the results.

I chose to leave the finished product "au naturale".  The yellowed and slightly bleached look goes very well with my sepia toned haunted parlor halloween decor.  But salt dough could easily be painted as well.   

I had fun making these.  Personally, I think they look pretty fabulous.  And of course, they were super simple to make!!