Dad Rocks Paperweight: Father’s Day Craft

If you are looking for a last minute Father’s Day gift your kids can make, this is it! It’s fun to make, uses very few supplies, and there’s a very high probability you already have everything on hand to make this. Send the kids out in the yard to gather some small pebbles, or if you have pea gravel that’s perfect! Pull out some salt, flour and water and you are ready to make this great Father’s Day gift dad will cherish.

Dad Rocks Salt Dough Paperweight
printable version

What You Need

1/4 cup salt
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup water
bowl
cookie sheet
1/2 cup pea gravel

What you do

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

Mix flour, salt and water together in a bowl. If dough is too sticky add small amounts of flour until it is doughy and pliable. Be careful not to add too much as the dough will dry out and your creation will crack.

Shape a piece of the dough into a ball in your hands. Place the ball on the cookie sheet and flatten to about 1/2″ thickness.

Carefully select pieces of pea gravel to spell out “DAD ROCKS”. Press them firmly but gently into the salt dough.

Bake your paperweight for 2-2.5 hours until completely dry.

Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling or removing from cookie sheet.

Optional: You can spray your creation with acrylic sealer or paint it with a clear coat sealer.

You might also like:
How to Make a Duct Tape Wallet
Quick Orange Rolls – from my cooking blog, a great breakfast for dad!

From other sites:
CD Photo Frame - from FamilyCorner.com
Trophy For Dad - my project from Kaboose
Vinyl Record Coasters - from I Love to Create


Me

28 Responses to Dad Rocks Paperweight: Father’s Day Craft

  1. Vera @ Cozy Little Cabin says:

    Too, too cute! I really like this idea!

  2. Diane says:

    What a cute, cute idea for any kid to make for his dad and feel so proud when he presented it :o) Thanks for the recipe for making this.

  3. mother★lode says:

    This is AWESOME! We just might whip one of these up today for our Dad that ROCKS! Thanks for sharing!

  4. Tiffiny Felix says:

    I love this–and I just happen to need a last minute thing for my kids to give their dad. Perfect!! :)

  5. Mary says:

    I made your project today for my husband ;) It's so cute. I put some blue food coloring in the dough and shaped it like a heart. Thanks for for the darling idea. Visiting from Show and Tell Friday~

  6. Threeundertwo says:

    So cute. I love crafts that can be made from materials I already have around the house. Thanks for linking up to Finished for Friday!

  7. Annemarie's Breiblog says:

    Oh this is sooooo cute! If you like you can add a link to your blog and a picture of something you've made yourself on my blog. Just check my latest blog post, it's really simple. Hope to see you there!
    Bye!
    Annemarie

  8. Jolene says:

    WOW! What an awesome idea! We are def doing this! Ill have pics up on my blog by tonite if u are interested!!!

  9. Michelle says:

    Very cute idea!

  10. Beth says:

    Stopping by from Sunday Showcase! What a great idea, so cute! Saving for next year (or maybe his birthday) Thanks for sharing!

  11. Megan says:

    These are too cute and perfect for daddy! Stumbled.

  12. Shugee @ Blue Heron Cottage says:

    Oh la la, Amanda. I love this, it has given me lots of ideas! Thanks for the inspiration! And your blog is FANTASTIC!

  13. Rory from Tools Are For Women Too! says:

    This is just fun! Thanks for showing it to us on Modern Craftswoman Monday! Rory

  14. Jerri says:

    How fun! Great project!

    Thanks for linking up for Friday Favorites!

  15. Kaysi says:

    That is awesome!!! I need to remember this for next year!

  16. creativejewishmom/Sara says:

    This is great Amanda, I can see so many possibilites that I hadn't thought of for baker's clay projects! Thanks so much for sharing on Craft Schooling Sunday! all the best, Sara

  17. Xhonane Olivas says:

    Hi Amanda! I love your blog!! I will be visiting often!! I am actually making a craft using this idea in my blog Familia Catolica http://familiacatolica-org.blogspot.com/ (it's in Spanish, but there is a translator). Thank you for sharing your great ideas!!

  18. Anonymous says:

    Oh Amanda….I am so happy to have been introduced to your site from Shutterfly on Facebook! I love your craft ideas! They are all absolutely AWESOME!! I just wish I had found your site earlier so I could have kept my 8 yr old and her friends busier during the summer!! Looking forward to look at more!
    Joan Lorenzo

  19. Amanda says:

    Thank you Joan! So nice of you to say so, hope you find lots of fun ideas here! :)

  20. The Crafty Artisan says:

    I love this idea! I have made this the tutorial of the day on my blog, The Crafty Artisan. I have posted a photo and a link to have my readers visit your web site.

    Happy Crafting!

    http://wiserunning.com/blog/2011/05/27/fathers-day-craft-tutorial-dad-rocks-paperweight/

  21. angee says:

    So cute! I will be linking tomorrow!

  22. Thread In Her Hair says:

    This is so great! My son is going to love making this!!

  23. Andi @ Jane of all crafts says:

    Thanks so much for this quick and fun craft!! My girls had so much fun! I just posted about it and linked back to you. have a great weekend!

    http://www.janeofallcrafts.com/2011/06/dad-rocks.html

  24. Amanda says:

    Those are so cute Andi!!

  25. bizzyshan says:

    this turned out super cute :) A tip that works with almost any salt dough recipe- is to color the dough w/ a packet of Koolaid :D i imprinted my daughter's hand, and then did a heart in rocks.

  26. Cady says:

    Hey I just wanted to let you know that I've actually put some of your ideas into my lesson plan at my summer camp–so don't be surprised if they show up on my blog.

    You have a really nice blog. Your tutorials are very helpful. I'm hoping my campers will love this one especially!

  27. rhiannon says:

    I tried to make it but it was to hard. add in more details

    • Amanda Formaro says:

      I’m sorry you had trouble. All the details are in the instructions. I’ve had several people make this without a problem. Make sure you measure your ingredients properly, salt dough can easily be dried out.

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