Make Beads from Flour and Water

Making simple beads at home with the kids can be as easy as pulling the flour out of the pantry, adding water and being creative with the paints!

Ingredients

  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 cup salt
  • 1 1/2 cups cold water
  • Food coloring (optional)

Steps

  1. Mix the flour and salt.
  2. Add water and mix well.
  3. Knead the "dough" that you've created for 10 - 15 minutes. If it feels flexible when you bend it and does not fall to pieces, it is ready for shaping.
  4. Shape the beads. Take small pieces and work them into ovals, circles, squares, or whatever shape takes your fancy.
  5. Make a hole in the bead. If you are using your beads to turn into a necklace or bracelet, make a hole in the center with a skewer or other thin long object. If you are using the beads for other projects, you may not want to have holes in them.
  6. Bake the beads in an oven at 250ºF/120ºC for 2 - 3 hours. Check regularly to see how the beads are. They are done when there is no moisture left and they feel hard to the touch.
  7. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a rack.
  8. Paint your beads. Decide which colors you'd like to make your beads and paint them. Include spots, stripes, shapes and other designs on them. Even little people or animal figures can be effective if you have detailed painting skills.
  9. Allow paint to dry thoroughly.
  10. Completely finished beads can be lacquered for a beautifully shiny finish.

Tips

  • You can add food coloring to the dough to make the beads colored.
  • Try making marble shapes and playing a game of marbles with specially painted beads. Or think of other games that you might be able to make using the beads.
  • Stamping a pattern onto the beads can also be very effective. You can use actual stamps for this but anything with a defined pattern will work.
  • Children can also help measure the amounts, knead the dough, and clean up afterward. This is a great way to practice math skills and develop fine motor and gross motor skills.
  • Try to experiment with the bead combination and recipe.

Warnings

  • Don't eat the dough as it's highly salty.
  • Always use an oven mitt to remove hot items from an oven.
  • Only adults should use the oven. Children should never be allowed to use the oven without adult supervision.

Things You'll Need

  • Flour
  • Salt
  • Water
  • Oven
  • Acrylic or other suitable paint (optional)
  • Paintbrushes (optional)
  • Skewer or other long thin object (optional)

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