How to Make Handmade Christmas Ornaments from Salt Dough

Traditional salt dough is a wonderful medium for crafting Christmas ornaments at home or school. This simple recipe is suitable for children of all ages, as it uses only edible ingredients. Whether painted artistically as elegant additions to your tree or decorated with love by your kids, salt dough ornaments will last for many seasons. To learn how to get started, read on!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Salt
• Flour (white)
• Water
• Cookie cutters and/or knife
• Drinking straw
• Paint, glitter, and other decorating supplies
• Acrylic sealant
• Ribbon or string for hanging

1. Mix the dough
   In a large mixing bowl, add 1/2 cup salt with 1 cup of flour. Stir with a wire whisk or fork until well blended. Measure out 1/2 cup of water, but pour only about half of that (1/4 cup or so) into the salt-four mixture. Stir until the dough is uniform in consistency, gradually adding more of the water as needed. Remove the dough from the bowl and place onto a floured board or counter. Gently knead the dough with the base of your palms, turning it as you go. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour, a teaspoon at a time.

2. 
    

   Cut out ornament shapes
   Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough to about 1/4 inch on the floured board. Try to roll it out as uniformly as possible, and make sure there are no trapped air bubbles. For an easy way to cut out the ornaments, use Christmas-themed cookie cutters. Flour the cookie cutter and then press it into the dough. When you reach the rolling board, wiggle the cookie cutter gently from side to side (while still pressing down) to make sure that the dough is completely cut. Continue to cut out ornaments until all of the dough has been used and then create holes for an ornament hangers or ribbons using the drinking straw. Carefully peel away the remaining dough and set aside.

3. Bake and cool the ornaments
   Gently slide a thin metal spatula under the ornaments to lift them from the rolling board. If the ornaments are stuck to the board, flour the spatula first, and then slide under the ornaments using a wiggling motion. Place the ornaments onto an ungreased cookie sheet - if you have a silicone baking sheet, place that on top of the cookie sheet before adding the ornaments. Bake them at 250 degrees for about 90 minutes. They should be dry and firm, but not brown. If they are still wet, continue baking, checking for doneness every ten minutes.

4. Decorate and seal
   After removing the ornaments from the oven, cool them overnight on sheets of wax paper. When you're ready to start decorating, let your imagination for wild! For children, acrylic paints, markers, and glitter glue work well. You can also glue on small decorations, such as beads and buttons. If there are any rough edges, sand them very lightly prior to decorating. Allow the paint and glue to dry thoroughly (at least 2 hours), then seal the surface using an acrylic craft sealer. Allow the sealer to dry per the manufacturer's instructions, then insert a ribbon through the small circular opening and tie.

Tips & Warnings

• If you've got a steady eye, try cutting your ornaments freehand using a dull knife.
• For a unique look, use decorative paper to decoupage the ornaments.
• The ornaments will be very hot at first, so keep them well away from small children.

Resources

• Photos by S. Schleicher

[walker7]

on 11/19/2009 Great craft information...thank you!