I am so not artistic (at least in this sense of the word) -- but I have friends who are and will steer them to this. It's beautiful -- and how fun to have it be an ancient art.
Those are adorable! Maybe sometime I will get the gumption to try that, maybe for now I should search your archives for the home-made playdough you made for your TN Primary Class and stick with that!
I can't believe you are making time for another branch and activities. You are a Rockstar!
4:09 PM
Anonymous said...
Ooh, I totally want to try this! Quite a few years ago, my oldest daughter Brynlee astounded us by making the most amazing roses out of Play-Doh. But, you can't really keep play-doh roses. This would be great to make a batch of before Christmas vacation or spring break when they need a fun creative outlet. Thanks for sharing this.
When I was in YW my parents, sister & I were put in an asian branch. It was such a great experience. This post reminded me of that. Your little dough figures are great!
I am emailing this post to myself so that I can have this idea at my fingertips. I feel a kids Christmas craft coming on!
7:12 PM
[Image]one of the pumpkins i made
Chinese Craft Last week Annie Kate and I went to the Chinese Branch Enrichment night at our church. It was so fun and the food was incredible. They had an artist there, Hui-chen Hsu, who taught us how to make these darling dough figures. She is an incredible artist who does many things at the Smithsonian. It was so much fun and I was amazed at how well all the kids did. She didn't speak much English but helped AK and I to make our little creatures. I know the recipe may seem a little overwhelming and have a lot of ingredients, but this was like dough I had never seen before, it is worth the effort. They said it is a craft from 1500 years ago. If you have a cold rainy day, I suggest trying it. [Image]Chinese Dough by Hui-chen Hsu
Preparing the dough (no matter what measurement you use, the ratio of the amount of flour, rice flour, and water is always 4:1:2)
Ingredients: (for making 200 small figures) Flour 10 cup Glutinous rice flour* (increases the viscosity of the dough) 2 1/2 cups Cold water 5 cups Salt (prevents the dough from hardening) 4-5 TBS Alum powder (protects against moisture and insects) you can find this at an Asian grocery 4-5 TBS Water-based preservative (you can get this at a craft store) a pinch liquid water color paint for coloring shish kebab skewers 200
Procedure: Add first six ingredients in a bowl, mix well into a paste like doughknead the dough evenly in a pan until the dough has achieved a balance of flexibility and firmness. add some water if it gets too stiff, or add an appropriate amount of flour, rice flour and water (4:1:2) if it gets too soft.Form the kneaded dough into lumps about the size of your palm.Put them into a pot of boiling water and after they float to the surface, take them out and get ready to add colors.Add the watercolors (paste like paint) to the dough while it is still warm and knead the dough until the color mixes evenly.Now you are ready to make the dough figuresAfter you are done, insert a bamboo skewer through your finished dough figures.Preserving the dough figures paint the finished dough figures in a well ventilated place and let dry for 2-3 days.paint a layer of clear varnish, or clear fingernail polish over the dough, and let dry for about 1 week.Repeat the procedure 6 times to preserve the figure.
posted by everything pink! at 12:02 PM on Oct 22, 2007
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7 Comments -
I am so not artistic (at least in this sense of the word) -- but I have friends who are and will steer them to this. It's beautiful -- and how fun to have it be an ancient art.
1:33 PM
How did visiting the Chinese Branch come about? What an interesting activity.
3:27 PM
Those are adorable! Maybe sometime I will get the gumption to try that, maybe for now I should search your archives for the home-made playdough you made for your TN Primary Class and stick with that!
I can't believe you are making time for another branch and activities. You are a Rockstar!
4:09 PM
Ooh, I totally want to try this! Quite a few years ago, my oldest daughter Brynlee astounded us by making the most amazing roses out of Play-Doh. But, you can't really keep play-doh roses. This would be great to make a batch of before Christmas vacation or spring break when they need a fun creative outlet. Thanks for sharing this.
9:41 PM
These are very cool. So glad you got to take part in this presentation and activity.
1:06 PM
When I was in YW my parents, sister & I were put in an asian branch. It was such a great experience. This post reminded me of that.
Your little dough figures are great!
9:35 PM
I am emailing this post to myself so that I can have this idea at my fingertips. I feel a kids Christmas craft coming on!
7:12 PM