Pink Hammers & Sippy Cups: Father’s Day Salt Dough Magnets

Well Father’s Day is quickly approaching and I thought I would share what we did for Charles’ present this year!

I’m not really big into anything cheesy and so all those typical “No 1. Dad” shirts and ties and mugs just was not my cup of tea. We’re also on a tight budget so I couldn’t exactly just go out and buy a present either and thus I searched high and low for a non-cheesy, sentimental gift to make for Charles and eventually I stumbled across the idea of salt dough magnets which I put my own twist on!

I ended up following this recipe which I cut down drastically and I really liked how it turned out. For quick reference I’ve listed the ingredients below.

1/4 cup salt
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup water.

Just mix all the ingredients together and knead for a few minutes adding extra flour until you reach a nice mouldable, non-sticky consistency. Basically like play dough! I found the amounts listed above gave me enough to make my magnets with a bit left over.

To make my foot magnets I just rolled a fat tube for the foot impressions then squished it down flat and made sure to round the edges. Once I had an adequate shape I flipped the dough over because the side against the table was smoother than the side I squished down which had my fingerprints on it. Then just delicately pick up your dough and press it against your child’s toes; I was surprised at how well Anna cooperated for this! My one recommendation would be to place your dough on a book or other solid surface because my magnets got the impression of my fingers on the opposite side from the pressing motion. I didn’t dare fix it because I was scared of losing Anna’s impression on the dough so I just left it as is.

For the heart impression I rolled a circular dough, again pressed it flat, flipped it over, and guided Anna’s thumb to press down twice in a heart shape. This one was actually harder to get than her feet and I had to redo it a few times till I got a heart I liked.

Some other magnet ideas you could do would be a flat disk which you then let your child paint later, or if you have a really small baby you could do the side of their fist. If your child is much older you could even forego the magnet idea and let them sculpt and paint a creation for their daddy!

Once I was happy with my magnets I baked them at 200 F for about 4 hours on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper although I’m sure you could skip the paper. As the website indicates you could increase the oven temperature but you might risk browning the ornament, you could also forego the oven entirely and let it air dry but this may take a few days.

After baking my magnet I left it overnight and than the next day I painted my magnets white and used 2 coats of a clear coat gloss to protect them and give them a shine.

You could probably attach the magnets after this stage but once more I allowed them to set over night before hot gluing on my actual magnets. I picked up the craft magnets at my local dollar store for a buck, that was my only cost for this project! Due to the wavy nature of the back of my magnet from my fingers I used a huge dollop of glue so it would help fill in the cracks.