In today's story, we learned a little bit about Pride flags. Let's learn how to make salt dough and make a rainbow bracelet with salt dough beads to celebrate!

Supplies

-flour

-salt

-water

-bowl

-spoon

-parchment or wax paper

-markers

-bamboo skewers

-string

-scissors

Step 1: Gather the Ingredients.

You'll need 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of water, and 1/2 cup of salt. You can expand or contract this recipe as you like using these ratios. This basic recipe made enough dough to make probably ten of these bracelets, but you can make whatever you like with the leftovers!

Step 2: Stir the Dry Ingredients Together.

Pour the flour and the salt into your bowl and stir them all up.

Step 3: Add the Water a Little Bit at a Time.

Pour no more than a quarter cup in at a time, and stir between each pour. I ended up only needing about 3/4 of the amount, and I had to add a little more flour. You want it to be about the consistency of pizza dough. If it's too sticky, add more flour. If it's too crumbly, add more water.

Step 4: Shape Your Dough Into Beads.

You can make them any shape! I started with a sphere. Pinch off a piece of dough about as big as a dime. Roll it between your palms to make a sphere.

Step 5: Make the Bead's Hole.

Poke the bead with the sharp end of a bamboo skewer. Twist it as you push all the way through, and keep gently twisting as you move the bead down the skewer. Set the skewer across your bowl so that the bead doesn't get squished by setting on a flat surface.

Step 6: Make the Rest of the Beads.

For each color in the Pridge flag, you'll want six beads. I made mine in all kinds of different shapes to represent the diversity of the queer community! You can even add details like the spiral I made around the bead in the middle.

Step 7: Bake Your Beads.

Set the bamboo skewers across an oven-safe baking dish. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake the beads for 8-12 minutes. The exact time will depend on the size, so I checked every 5 minutes. Even then, I baked them a little too long and some of them cracked. I decided this gave them more character, though!

Step 8: Color Your Beads.

Gently pull the beads off the skewers, twisting as you go. Then it's time to color them! You can use paint or markers. I decided to use markers! Here are some pictures of different Pride flags. I went with the classic color scheme. If you hold the beads on a skewer, it makes them much easier to color.

Step 9: Cut Your String.

Embroidery floss works very nicely if you have it. If not, you'll want to use something thicker than regular thread. Depending on how big your beads are, you might even be able to use yarn. I cut about 2.5 feet of string so I'd have lots of extra to work with.

It will be easiest to thread the beads if you use a needle, though you can use a clean bamboo skewer to shove the thread through in a pinch.

Step 10: Thread Your Beads.

Pass the needle through the first bead, then pass the needle through a second time and tie it off. Add the other beads, passing the needle through each bead twice to create a loop around one side. This will allow you to space the beads.

Step 11: Size the Bracelet.

Don't snip off the needle yet. Lay the bracelet over your wrist to see how long you'll need it. Mine was too long, so I pulled up the loops on the outside of each bead and scooted them down to make the bracelet smaller. If you need to make it bigger, scoot them the other way.