Salt Dough Ornaments

Salt dough ornaments are the sweetest little homemade gift and such a fun Christmas tradition! You can make them for the whole family or classroom with hardly any effort and there are plenty of fun personalization options. Kids will have a great time making this salt dough recipe!

Making Salt Dough Ornaments

When my daughter, Madeline, was in elementary school she received a homemade salt dough ornament from one of her friends.

I thought that was the cutest idea for kids to gift to one another and I loved that it was a fun friend gift that didn’t cost a lot of money.

Christmas crafts as gifts for school friends aren’t something I’d really considered before – surely buying stuff was easier? But after she came home with that adorable ornament, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

In years past, usually on a snowy afternoon when everyone is tired of playing in the snow, we whip up a batch of these cute Salt Dough Ornaments to hand out to friends.

We keep it simple with solid colors, and classic shapes like Christmas trees and snowflakes, but red and white candy canes or yellow bells would be super cute and festive, too.

Easy Salt Dough Recipe

Salt Dough Ornaments are actually really easy to make and are the perfect activity for kids to do during the month of December. Especially on days that are too cold or snowy to play outside. Usually those days are abundant here in Colorado.

When Kevin and I got married, we decided on decorating two Christmas trees each year — one downstairs in the formal living that is all matchy-matchy and perfect.

It sits in front of the windows and looks so pretty with the tree’s white lights and ornaments in shades of blue, silver, and gold glowing through the windows at night.

Even though it is a decorator tree, there are a few special-to-me ornaments on it that just happen to fit the color scheme, and every year we try to add a couple new ones.

Upstairs in the hallway outside of the kids game room is a tree with all of their collector ornaments. That tree contains all of the cute handmade things the kids made in class in years past, and multi-color lights. It’s totally tacky in the best way possible.

This year, we made a couple extra of these salt dough ornaments to put on our memory-filled tree and I look forward to more in years to come. I don’t think making salt dough ornaments is an activity that kids will ever really grow out of.

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Easy Salt Dough Recipe Ingredients

This is the best salt dough recipe! If you’ve never learned how to make salt dough, don’t fret — it’s so easy to make your own homemade ornaments! Here’s what you will need to make a batch of this salt dough:

• All-purpose flour
• Salt
• Water
• Essential Oils for scenting (optional!)
• Food Coloring or Acrylic Chalk Craft Paint (or keep them naturally colored)

Tools Needed to Make Salt Dough

In addition to these key ingredients to make the dough, you’ll also need some additional materials for shaping and decorating your homemade ornaments:

• Measuring Cups and Spoons – to measure the ingredients for a batch of salt dough.
• Mixing Bowl – to prepare the simple dough in.
• Mixing Spoon – to mix the ingredients.
• Rolling Pin – to roll the salt dough out with.
• Cookie Cutters – to cut shapes for your salt dough Christmas ornaments.
• Baking Sheet – to bake the ornaments on.
• Parchment Paper – to line the baking sheet.
• Drinking Straw – this helps cut the hole for threading ribbon or twine to string the ornament
• Twine or Ribbon – to hang your handmade ornaments.

That’s it! Any other tools you use are up to your personal preference depending on how you’d like to customize your homemade salt dough ornaments.

For the complete ingredient list and detailed instructions to make your own salt dough ornaments, scroll to the bottom of the post for the FREE printable recipe card.

How to Make Salt Dough Ornaments

Salt dough ornaments are super simple to make yourself at home! Here is an overview of the steps you’ll need to follow. For full details, make sure you scroll down to the free printable recipe card which you can keep for your records and use year after year.

1. To make this salt dough ornament recipe, you first need to whisk together the salt and flour.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the water and food coloring (or paint).
3. Make a well in the flour mixture and slowly pour in the colored water, mixing after you’ve added half of the liquid.
4. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes on top of parchment paper or baking mat until the dough is smooth and colored throughout.
5. Roll out the salt dough, then cut it out using your cookie cutters of choice.
6. Place the salt dough ornaments on a parchment paper lined baking tray, then cut a hole near the top with a drinking straw.
7. Then, bake at 200 degrees F for an hour, or until dry (varies on size and thickness of ornament).

The above is simply a quick summary of how to make this salt dough project. Check out the full recipe in the free printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for all the detailed instructions.

Salt Dough Ornaments FAQs

Got questions about how to make this DIY salt dough ornaments? Here are the answers to a few commonly asked questions. Feel free to leave any other questions in the comments on this post and I’ll respond with answers.

What Type of Salt Should I Use?

To make this recipe for salt dough, you will use regular table salt! There is no need to buy anything special.

Can I Make Salt Dough Ahead of Time?

Yes, you can make salt dough ahead of time, up to 5 day. Store it in the refrigerator in a completely air tight container or sealed ziplock bag. You can also use a vacuum sealer if you have one.

Storing it air tight is necessary because you don’t want to let the dough get dried out before you’ve had a chance to roll it!

Making salt dough ahead of time is a perfect way to eliminate some of the to-do the day you want to make the dough if you don’t have time to do it all in one day.

This works best when left naturally colored or colored with food coloring. I don’t recommend making it ahead of time if adding acrylic chalk paint as the paint could dry out or degrade when stored for a length of time in the refrigerator.

How Many Ornaments Does this Salt Dough Recipe Make?

The number of ornaments you will get from this salt dough recipe varies based on the size of the ornament, however this recipe made approximately 10 three inch sized circles in my most recent batch.

After you cut out the shapes for your ornaments, combine any leftover scraps and knead until smooth and combined, then re-roll and cut out more shapes. Repeat until you don’t have any salt dough left.

How Do You Add Color To Salt Dough?

There are two different ways to add customized colors to salt dough – using food coloring or using acrylic chalk paint.

Adding Food Coloring to Salt Dough

Food Coloring To add food coloring to the salt dough, you’ll only need a few drops unless you are looking to achieve very deep colors.

You can mix different colors to create different hues beyond the typical food coloring color options.

I prefer the gel food coloring over traditional food coloring because you don’t need to use a whole bottle of coloring to achieve intensely colored dough.

What Paint Can You Use In Salt Dough?

Acrylic Chalk Paint is best for using with salt dough in my experience.

For solid colored salt dough, add 2 – 5 ounces of acrylic chalk paint to the water and mix, then combine (slowly) with the flour and salt mixture. Stir until mixed, and then knead.

When adding paint to the salt dough, make sure you cover all surfaces with parchment paper or butcher paper so you don’t end up damaging your kitchen surfaces.

You can also use an old baking mat if you don’t care about it potentially getting stained. I prefer butcher paper or parchment paper because it makes the mess easy to clean up.

When you are kneading the salt dough, you will want want to wear gloves so that the paint doesn’t transfer to your hands. You can use surgical gloves or kitchen cleaning gloves (again, they might stain!).

This time around, as you can see in my photos, I decided to add white acrylic chalk paint to my salt dough to achieve a brighter white color and a matte finish. Then, I stamped the dough using a snowflake rubber stamp.

What should I do if my salt dough is too sticky?

If the dough is too sticky, simply add extra flour and salt in a 4:1 ratio (such as 4 tablespoons flour and 1 tablespoon salt) until the dough is easily handled. It should be firm but not dry.

Can You Paint Salt Dough After Baking?

Yes, you can paint salt dough after your ornament has completely dried. I recommend acrylic craft paint for this.

You can use small paint brushes to add details to your ornament, which works especially well if your ornament has three dimensional texture to it.

Can You Add Glitter to Salt Dough?

Yes! Adding glitter to salt dough gives a nice affect and can provide fun customization options. Keep reading to learn how to add glitter to salt dough ornaments – there are 3 different ways!

How to add glitter to salt dough

There are a few different ways to make glittery salt dough ornaments:

• One way to add glitter to your salt dough recipe is by adding flakes of glitter – 1 tablespoon at a time until you like the ratio of glitter to dough.

• Another way to incorporate glitter in your salt dough recipe is by adding acrylic chalk paint that contains glitter or shimmer to your water, and then mixing that into the flour and salt when you prepare your dough. When I add paint to my dough, I add 6 ounces of paint to the recipe as written.

• Lastly, you can incorporate glitter in your salt dough ornaments by painting clear craft glue onto parts of your ornament that you want to have glitter and sprinkling loose glitter flakes on top of the glue. The ornament should be dry before this method is used.

Why Does My Salt Dough Puff Up?

Are you wondering why your salt dough ornaments turned out puffy? Typically there are two things that cause salt dough to get puffy: either your oven is too hot or you used self-rising flour.

The first reason that your salt dough ornaments might be puffing is the temperature you bake at. You want your oven to be pretty low. This recipe calls for a 200 degrees F oven.

If you find that your salt dough ornaments are still turning out puffy, then try an even lower temperature. Temperatures lower than 200 degrees F work just fine for baking your salt dough and result in less puffiness. Your ornaments will just take longer to bake and dry out at the lower temperature.

The second reason that a salt dough ornament might puff after baking is because you used self-rising flour. In this recipe it is important to use all-purpose flour as it contains no leavening agents (baking soda, baking powder, etc).

Can You Air Dry Salt Dough Ornaments?

Yes you can make salt dough ornaments without baking them, however I don’t typically choose to make them that way.

No-bake salt dough ornaments take a lot longer to harden because you’re letting them dry out naturally. The benefit to making no-bake salt dough ornaments is that air drying the salt dough eliminates all chance of puffiness.

To air dry your salt dough ornaments, prepare the recipe as instructed, eliminating any cooking spray. Then, place them in a warm, dry place on a flat surface (such as a cookie sheet).

Let the salt dough air dry naturally for about 3-5 days, larger or thicker ornaments may take up to a week to air dry.

How Long Do Salt Dough Ornaments Last?

Properly prepared salt dough ornaments that have fully dried will last for decades!

The most important tip for long lasting salt dough ornaments is to make sure that you let them dry out all the way – and that you don’t let them get damp. If they dampen, they can mold.

That means, when you pack your Christmas Ornaments up after the Holidays that you need to store them in a way that they won’t get wet.

I recommend air tight plastic ornament bins rather than cardboard boxes, which can get wet and damp due to humidity or leaks in your home. You can even add silica packets to your ornament storage to help mitigate any dampness that does occur.

Salt Dough Ornaments that have gotten wet or have already begun to mold, unfortunately should be thrown out for health reasons. Better safe than sorry!

How to Personalize Salt Dough Ornaments

You could make salt dough ornaments for your family, the classroom, coworkers – you name it!

And your limitations are only set by the cookie cutters you own. If you want to take it one step further, you can even personalize the ornaments for the recipient!

All the different combos you could make, all the Christmas cookie cutters I just happened to have in the pantry… the possibilities are endless.

Here are some of my favorite ways to personalize these salt dough ornaments:

• Take some mini ABC cookie cutters and stamp the middle with the recipient’s last name initial, monogram, or first name.
• Stamp the ornament with that year’s date, or a date of special significance.
• Lightly stamp a design within the cookie cutter using another, smaller cookie cutter.
• Hang two ornaments together on the same string, for example two shapes that have significance for the person you’re giving them to.

How to Stamp Salt Dough Ornaments with Texture

If you want to add interesting textures or patterns to the surface of your salt dough ornaments, you can do so by pressing different types of materials, tools, or other items that you might have in your home into the surface of the dough before baking.

Some great options for adding texture to your salt dough are:

• lace
• cookie stamps
• leaves
• rosemary sprigs
• pinecones
• pine needles
• rubber crafting stamps
• ribbon
• bottoms of crystal vases

Press the dough firmly with these items to leave an imprint in the dough but don’t press all the way through. You just want to create a texture on the surface that will remain after baking.

Objects or stamps with deeper more pronounced textures and grooves give the best finished appearance after baking and drying. Items that have very small, intricate details will not yield ideal results.

Scented Salt Dough Ornaments

Did you know that you can make scented salt dough ornaments, too? Adding essential oils to your salt dough will give it a great scent that you can enjoy in your home!

Have an artificial tree but love the smell of fresh, real Christmas trees?

Scented Salt Dough ornaments are a great way to give an artificial tree a natural pine scent. Simply add 5-15, depending on your preference, drops of Fir Essential Oil. I like Siberian Fir best!

Another great scent to add to salt dough ornaments is Cinnamon Essential Oil! This will make your house smell like Christmas! A Christmas-y blend that I like is Holiday Joy, which has cinnamon along with orange and a few other essential oils.

The sky is the limit, really! You can add any essential oil scent you like, it doesn’t have to be a holiday themed smell.

For best results, you will want to air dry any salt dough ornaments that you have added essential oils to so that the scent remains longer.

When adding essential oils to your dough I definitely recommend wearing gloves when handling the dough as some people are sensitive to essential oils on their skin.

Have a Salt Dough Ornament Making Party

Pair this fun activity with a mug of your favorite hot cocoa and a round or two of Christmas Book Bingo by the fire.

Grown ups will love this Spiked Peppermint Mocha Hot Chocolate  and kiddos will like a mug of Candy Cane Hot Cocoa. If mulled ciders are more your style, try this Spiced Pomegranate Apple Cider.

Just make sure your favorite Christmas Tunes are playing in the background!

That sounds like just about the most perfect winter afternoon I could ask for. I hope it does to you too.

Looking for more fun Christmas activity ideas for kids to pair with making these salt dough ornaments? Check out my post on Tips to Prepare for a Fun Winter Break with Kids

Try this Simple Salt Dough at Home!

Next time you’re looking for a fun project to do with kids during the holiday season, give this classic salt dough recipe a try!

Has this become one of your favorite activities? Leave a comment below and give it a review for others to see what you thought of this great recipe.

On Instagram? Share your photo and tag me @goodlifeeats #goodlifeeatsrecipes. I’d love to see a photo of your beautiful salt dough ornaments!

More Homemade Gift Ideas:

If you love to make homemade gifts for friends, neighbors, teachers, or anyone else on your holiday gift list, you might like to try a couple of these ideas, too.

Instead of throwing out broken bits of crayon, learn How to Make Recycled Crayons and try melting down your scraps and reshaping them into something new. For Christmas-themed crayons, look for silicone molds that are Christmas Tree or snowflake shaped.

Featuring lemon, oil, sugar and salt, this All-Natural Moisturizing Kitchen Hand Scrub is a simple DIY gift to prepare – perfect for the holiday season. Teachers will love this pampering item. For something extra special, pair it with a mani/pedi gift card or some fun new nail polish colors.

This Rosemary Mint Sugar Scrub is another homemade gift any woman in your life would love. It’s easy to make and can be used all over your body.

Homemade bookmarks make fun crafts for kids and also super cute gifts for them to pass out to friends at school; check out these 8 Cute DIY Bookmark Ideas.

And there are 45 more Homemade gift ideas here!

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What are your favorite homemade holiday gifts?