Rose 'n' Salt Dough Finger Prints For Mother's Day

Precious little hands stay tiny for such a short while.  I am so in love with making a keepsake of this very special time, of those amazingly beautiful little fingers and palms.

Pink rose petals in this dough are to symbolize love and motherhood, plus they give the dough a very delicate fragrance.

pink rose petals

I did this simple little project both at home with my girls and at the preschool, making two different versions.  At home we made a big plaque with both my big girls hands pressed into the dough, their thumbs overlapping.  The kids at the preschool cut out hearts from the rosy salt dough and pressed their fingers into the dough.  Both versions are totally cute and precious!

~ Materials ~

This makes enough dough for 15 hearts about 2" by 3" and one 8" by 6" plaque.  You can cut the recipe it in half if you want!

• 4 cups of flour
• 2 cups of salt
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups of water, rose tea or rose-water for fragrance
• 2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup of fluffy pink rose petals
• straw
• heart-shaped cookie cutter, optional
• ribbons
• sharpie marker, optional

~ Instructions ~

• Blend together the flour, salt,  cream of tartar and rose petals.  

• Next add the water a little bit at a time until you get a nice doughy consistency that holds together but is not sticky.  I did this all in my Kitchen Aid the night before going into the preschool and it was easy!  You could certainly mix this up with the kids too, which I am sure they would enjoy.  

• At this point you are ready to make your shapes and prints, or you can refrigerate the dough in an air tight bag if, like me, you won't be using it until the next day.  

• Roll or press the dough out.

dough all pressed out

• Either shape the dough to desired shape or cut out heart shapes with your cookie cutter.

• Press the child's hand into the dough.  You may need to talk with them about spreading their fingers apart.  Most of the kids I worked with instinctively placed their hand on the dough with their fingers all held together.  Also you may need to help them press their fingers into the dough.

imprinting

• Use the straw to poke a little hole for hanging.

• Dry these in the oven at a low temp for a couple of hours.  Be sure to keep a close eye on them and flip them half way through the drying process.  Or you can let them air dry for a couple of days.

• Use the sharpie to write the child's name and their age or the date on the back of the heart/plaque and add a pretty ribbon for hanging.

fingers

You could also paint these with modge podge to preserve them.  Or you could let the kiddos paint them to add a nice little personal touch.  Because we used the roses we aren't going to paint ours so we can see and smell the roses!

A little poem to go with this sweet gift would be a lovely addition.  I found all a wonderful collection of poems on Can Teach.  Most of them make me tear up thinking about my own little ones growing up so very fast!

More Ideas for Mother's Day Gifts ~

Some Sweet Foot Lovin' For Mother's Day

When I was researching this project I found a lot of wonderful salt dough recipes to choose from.  Here are two that I used the most for inspiration:

Create, Craft, Love and eHow Mom

Are you making gifts for Mother's Day this year?

Happy Mother's Day!

Shared On:  Eco-Kid's Tuesday, Kid's Get Crafty, Friday's Nature Table, Kid's Activity Blog, The Weekly Kid's Co-op

Rosy Oatmeal Bath

Heart opening roses in the bath restores the nervous system while cleansing and toning the skin.

Oatmeal in the bath creates a rich mucilage that is extremely soothing to dry skin.  

Rose Geranium eases nervous tension and rejuvenates skin.

Pure simple delight!  

Rosy Oatmeal Bath

~ Make your very own Rosy Oatmeal bath  ~

In a cloth or muslin bag wrap:

• 1 to 2 large handfuls of dried rose petals or rose buds (organic please!)
• 1 to 2 large handfuls of oatmeal

Toss the bundle in the tub and fill with the hottest water from your faucet.  Let your bundle steep in the tub until the water is cool enough for bathing about 15 to 20 minutes depending on the heat of your water.

Next Add:

• 6 to 10 drops of rose geranium essential oil
• a handful of epsom salt, optional

Climb in and enjoy this super soothing, comforting bath!  Be sure to squeeze and squish your bundle of roses and oatmeal to liberate the slippery, milky goodness from the oats.  Use your bundle as a nice gentle scrub all over your body.  I even put some on my face and let it remain there for a while to nourish my skin.  Oh so simple and lovely...

After my bath ~

My skin was soft, so soft!  I felt truly relaxed, nourished and ready for the rest of my day.

Flower 'n' Spice Play Dough Mandalas

Flowers 'n' spice and everything nice went into these lovely little mandalas!

"What's a mandala Ms. Angela?" was the immediate question I received after telling the kids what would be making together. While showing the kids a mandala coloring sheet I brought in for them, I explained that a mandala is a circle with a center.  It has patterns.  "As you work on a mandala," I explained, "you become calm and reflect on the beautiful parts inside yourself."

Inspiration for this project came directly from Nuture Store's wonderful post about Play Dough Rangoli Mandalas.  The instant I saw these mandalas I knew I would have to make them (with an herbal flare) at the preschool as part of our unit on Mindful Self Care.

herbal mandalas

Materials ~

• Play Dough (To enhance relaxation during this project I made play dough scented with lavender essential oil and colored lightly with beet powder.)
• Lids of some sort ~ like the lids from yogurt containers or jars
• Pretty botanicals to design with ~ we used baby rose buds, hawthorn berries, star anise and tiny fragrant cardamom seeds.

mandala botanicals

Directions ~

• Set up your materials on a table.  I laid out the botanicals on a paint palate and put lids in the center of the table.
• Give the children a brief age-appropriate description of a mandala.
• Have each child choose a lid and write their name on the bottom.
• Give them some play dough to press into their lid.  Remind them that a mandala is a circle and to press their play dough up to the edges of the lid.  You might need to help really little kids.
• Then let them design!  You might want to tell the children to press the herbs into the play dough so the herbs will stick.
• On a separate table, if you wish set up coloring materials and mandala coloring sheets for the children to enjoy as well.  A quick search online will give you lots of mandala coloring sheet to choose from.

creating a mandala

Our finished mandalas smelled amazing!  Some of the children really got into this project.  I could see and feel their minds and bodies relaxing as they carefully pressed each plant into their play dough.  They would pick up a plant, smell it taking a deep breath and then place it in the perfect spot on their play dough canvas.

herbal mandala

More Mindful Self Care For Children ~

Meditation Friends

An Aromatic State Of Mind

More Play Dough Fun ~

Herbal Play Dough

A Happy First Day of Preschool With Calming Aromatherapy

Cinnamon Day ~ Herbs For Kids ~

Rose and Chocolate Play Dough

Shared On:  Eco-Kids Tuesday, The Kid's Co-op, It's Playtime, Kids Get Crafty

Natural Living Monday ~ Stop And Smell The Roses

I admit it, I have roses on my mind.  It is almost Valentine's Day!  I adore roses, fresh or dried.  I delight in making tea with rose petals and hips; crafting with sweet little baby buds of rose; and making body care products with anything rose ~ rose water, rose petals and rose essential oil.  With all this rosiness on my mind I wanted to start this week's wonderful blog hop with a little informative herbal tidbit about roses.  Of course Summer is a wonderful time to collect and use fresh rose petals yet even during the cold of Winter we can enjoy the bounty of roses by using dried petals and fruits (hips).  Roses are helpful for supporting immunity and lung health.  They bring a ray of happiness to folks feeling sad in the during gloomy months of late Winter.  Plus they are great for crafting with especially with kids who really love the little dried baby rose buds.

Rose Petals and Hips

Rosa spp.

Roses, in their beauty, open the heart and speak of love.  Yet they offer so much more than meets the eye.  The petals are edible and are lovely added to salads, desserts and even made into rose butter.  They also make a tasty tea (use fresh or dried) that I have found to be quite popular with children.  All that deliciousness brings with it immune enhancing properties as well as soothing coolness for the urinary system, nervous system and heart.  The petals ease cold/flu symptoms and lung congestion increasing lung strength and vitality.  Roses are also helpful in cases of PMS and fullness in the pelvis.  Emotionally roses sooth broken hearts and aggravated nervous systems.  Rose hips, the fruit of a rose, are very high in Vitamin C.  They make a tasty sweet sour addition to teas and foods helping to prevent infections.  I love to soak the hips in apple juice until they are soft and use them as jam on my kids' PB & J.

Roses are often heavily sprayed so be sure to use organic roses.

More please....

Valentine's Day Crafts:

• Rosebuds Crowns and Hearts
• Roses at Preschool for Valentine's Day
• Rose Hearts

Using Roses With Kids:

• Herbal Infusions For Children
• All Natural Candy Cane Bath Salts
• Grapevine Magic
• Herbal Play Dough

Find this and more information about other amazing herbs in my Materia Medica section.

And now....

Welcome to Natural Living Monday where we share all our natural living tips, tricks, and fun ideas.

Thank you for joining us on Natural Living Monday!  I am excited to see the great things you have been doing to live a more natural, whole, holistic life.

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Amanda from Natural Living Mamma

Katie from Nourishing Simplicity

Angela from Mama Rosemary.

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