Hand Full of Love

What You Need: 2 cups flour; 1 cup salt; 1 cup water; mixing bowl; spoon; rolling pin; toothpick; plastic or butter knife; baking sheet; wooden dowel; dried flowers; clear spray lacquer.

Doing It:

This is a keepsake a grandchild can make (with adult supervision) for a grandparent and present to them as a gift any time.

Make up some salt dough using 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, and 1 cup water. It should have a nice, even texture. Add a little more flour or water as required.

Roll out a circle large enough for a child's hand. Trace around the hand using a toothpick. Cut out the pattern with a plastic knife or butter knife. Remove all the excess dough so you have only the hand left. Carefully flip the hand over.

Bend the middle two fingers down over a wooden dowel. The hand is saying, "I love you" in sign language.

Bake the dough in the oven at 200 degrees F for about three hours, until golden. It's important to keep the temperature low and the baking time long because you're slowly evaporating the water.

When the hand is cool, remove the dowel. Slip some dried flowers into the hand, where the dowel was. Spray everything with a clear lacquer for a beautiful and touching gift (just for admiring, not eating!).