Prehistoric Salt Dough Fossils

What a great way to reuse some of Kade’s old toys! I knew those miniature prehistoric dinosaurs and animals would come in handy one day! This activity is completely customizable…..using flowers or plants to imprint would be another lovely and artistic craft to create. I categorized this activity under “Indoor Play”…..however, the weather was so amazing…..I decided to facilitate most of the steps outdoors. Pictured below are the ingredients and equipment needed to make my “Prehistoric Salt Dough Fossils.”

To begin, preheat your oven to 200° Fahrenheit. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour and salt; stir.

Add the blue, yellow and red drops of food coloring. (I recommend adding the food coloring into dry ingredients, rather than mixing in water, because this process will allow the color to give a mineral deposit “effect”…..making these fossils appear like rocks.)

Gradually add the water and stir until combined and the dough begins to form.

Using your hands, knead the dough for 3 minutes until the dough forms into a smooth ball.

Line a large cutting board with wax paper and sprinkle its surface with flour.

Turn out the salt dough onto the wax lined cutting board and flatten with a rolling pin until the thickness is 1/3″.

Using a biscuit cutter, gently press down and twist (making 12-13 rounds).

Gently imprint each round with preferred miniature prehistoric toy.

Transfer rounds to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 3 hours.

Since I am baking all the time I have found that using parchment paper sheets make my life a HECK of a lot easier!

While the salt dough is baking, get outside and burn some energy!

After baking, allow to completely cool; HAVE FUN!

Optional: Seal fossils with Mod Podge to create a protective coating for outdoor play.

The fossils will look like this after the sealant has dried.

XOXO,

Kendallraye