Shambhala Craft: Apple Pie-Scented Harvest of Peace Keepsakes

When Chantal and I were running the in-person children’s program at the San Antonio Shambhala Center, we arranged seasonal children’s activities for nyida days. (The four astronomical touchpoints of the year plus Shambhala Day.)

One year when it was my turn to come up with an activity for Harvest of Peace, I developed a scented salt dough photo keepsake craft based on a few different resources. While the adults were doing the Shambhala Sadhana in the main meditation hall, we were rolling out saltdough and taking pictures of the children in their dress clothes in another meditation hall. I took them home, baked and lacquered them, glued in the printed photos, and then distributed them.

If you would like to make them at home – much easier! – here’s how.

Apple Pie-Scented Harvest of Peace Keepsakes

Makes 4 keepsakes 

Ingredients

• 2 cups refined wheat flour 
• 1 cup salt 
• 3/4 cup hot water (the hotter, the more scent) 
• 1 Tbsp wallpaper glue (optional) 
• 1 Tbsp oil (optional) 
• 1-2 Tbsp cinnamon 
• 1/2 tsp allspice 
• 1/2 tsp cardamom 
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg 
• Red food coloring 
• Green food coloring 

Instructions

Mix flour, salt, spices, and wallpaper glue (if using), and pour in the water and oil (if using). Mix thoroughly and knead for 10-15 minutes. (This is well done with a dough hook in a food processor or mixer.) The dough will initially seem dry and crumbly, but will eventually become supple but firm. It is better to knead a little extra, rather than add more water too early. 

The dough can be tested by holding a dough roll upside down for about 30 seconds. If it keeps its shape, more or less, it is good. If it sags downward quickly, it is too wet. If the dough really is too dry, even after lots of kneading, add another tablespoon of oil or dampen your hands. 

You should now have a supple but firm ball of light brown, apple pie scented salt dough.

Separate some of the dough for stems and some for leaves.

Dye the leaf portion green. Dye the remainder of the dough red. (Leave the stem portion brown.) 

Let rest 30-60 minutes (or more, up to a few days in the refrigerator) in a sealed plastic bag or jar. If you refrigerated the dough, let it warm up for about an hour before using. The risk of long storage is that the dough will become too wet and may need more flour kneaded in and/or a low baking temperature. It is best to use the dough immediately, especially with small children.

When ready to use, divide both the red, the brown, and the green dough into four balls.  

Flatten the red balls and roll out into circles about one centimeter (about 1/2 in) thick or less. (Child hands need to fit inside the circle.)  

Cut out curved wedges at the top and bottom to make an apple shape. Smooth the edges with wet fingers. 

Have your child make a handprint in the apple, with the palm off-center. The dough will ‘rebound’ a little, so press hard in order to get a clear, contiguous handprint. 

Roll stems from the brown salt dough and press onto each apple.

Roll cones out of the green salt dough and flatten into leaves. Press onto each apple. 

Cut a hole for a picture with a cup or glass the size of your child’s palm (or smaller) where the palm of the handprint is. (For a three-year-old, an espresso cup was about right.) Smooth the inside edges with wet fingers. 

Stamp the apples with “Harvest of Peace DATE”:

Assemble cookie stamp letters to make a “Harvest of” stamp. Choose two spots on the apple for stamping the occasion and stamp the first line. (On the opposite apple half from the palm print works well.)    

Remove the first set of letters, make a “peace 20xx” stamp and stamp the second line. If you accidentally get lines around the letters from the stamp, smooth them out gently with wet fingers. If you don’t have letter stamps, you can write slowly with a toothpick.   

If you want the keepsake to be hanged, or otherwise attach a ribbon, make holes for string or ribbon with a straw at least one centimeter (1/3 in) from an edge. 

Bake the keepsakes at 75-80ºC for 12 hours or 3 hours at 110ºC. 

The higher temperature is more prone to browning as well as having air bubbles create cracks and uneven surfaces as well as more fragile keepsakes, but is faster. The more you have worked the dough, the bigger the risk of air bubbles is. If you rolled and re-rolled the dough a lot, you may want to choose the lower temperature method. 

If you see bubbles forming while you are baking the keepsakes, take them out of the oven, pierce the bubble with a needle, push the bubble down gently, and then put them back in. 

They are done when they sound hollow and impenetrable to a needle. If using a higher temperature for smaller pieces of dough than the apple keepsakes (from the cut out dough bits, for example), use a lower temperature or watch them closely if you want to maintain the color. The dough will brown to a deep, natural brown if dried too long at high temperature. 

When the keepsakes are completely dry, lacquer them with clear solvent-based lacquer. (Water-based lawyer or varnish will add moisture back to the keepsakes and may also have a chemical reaction with the salt in the dough that will cause the keepsake to crumble.) 

When the varnish has dried, attach a photo with Mod Podge or other decoupage glue. 

Print the photo you want to use. (Printer paper is fine.) Position the photo to show the child as you like in the frame, then cut the paper to leave wide overlap of paper on the back of the frame but no paper showing from the front. With your fingers, smear the front and the back of the photo thinly with the decoupage glue. Place the photo on the back of the apple, then rub the decoupage glue into and through the paper to attach the photo to the frame.

If using a string or ribbon, tie it to the keepsake. 

Created by Teresa Spicer, Awake Energy Warrior, from the following sources:

https://www.teach-me-mommy.com/apple-handprint-photo-keepsake/ 

https://www.playdoughtoplato.com/apple-pie-playdough-recipe/

Trolldegsboken by Tone Bergli Joner