Make These Salt Dough Ornaments Your Next Holiday Craft Project
Homemade ornaments are my favorite kind of Christmas tree decoration, and the more they look like they were obviously made by a very small child, the better. This salt dough is a perfect holiday craft project that will give you keepsakes for years to come, and you can make it with just three things that are probably in the pantry already.
“It turns out that the salt dough handprints and ornaments you remember from your childhood are just as fun to make now — and this recipe is my favorite to make with the kids each winter,” says Amy Palanjian from Yummy Toddler Food. “Grandparent gifts, check!”
All you need to make these salt dough ornaments is flour, table salt, and water. Just combine the ingredients and sculpt the resulting dough like modeling clay. You can shape the dough with your hands, or you can roll it out and cut shapes with cookie cutters. Don’t forget to poke a hole in the ornament, or you will never be able to hang it on a tree. I forgot to do that once, and my family still thinks it’s one of the funniest things that has ever happened.
For a great keepsake, you can cut a circle and press a handprint into the dough before baking. Once they’re cooked, you can decorate them with puffy paints to look like icing, or use markers, paints, or whatever craft supplies you want. Personally, I like glitter glue pens for crafting with small children, because glitter glue gives the look of glitter without having to hand a jar of real glitter to someone who has not yet fully mastered how to use a fork. I always write the year and the name of whoever decorated the ornament on the back, with a permanent marker or a gold paint pen, so I’ll remember later.
To keep the ornament for years to come, coat it with Mod-Podge or spray it with sealant. Once the coating is dry, store the ornaments in bubble wrap when they aren’t in use to help keep them safe and unbroken.
Get the recipe: Salt Dough from Yummy Toddler Food
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