How to make Salt Dough
Ornaments
Salt dough ornaments are easy to make at home! Follow these steps to start a new tradition!
Gather ‘round the kitchen table, roll up your sleeves, and get ready for an afternoon full of fun and creativity. ’Tis the season to be crafty and establish new family traditions with these salt dough ornaments! These ornaments are a lovely homemade gift and an enjoyable Christmas tradition, which you can create for the entire family or classroom with almost no effort and plenty of personalization options. Making these ornaments with your children will be a fantastic experience, and you can hang them on the tree for many years to come! This is the best salt dough recipe available, so you won’t be disappointed.
Materials
• 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup Table Salt
• \1/3 cup Water, plus 1 tablespoon
• Food Coloring or Acrylic Paint
• 1 Drinking Straw or skewer
• Nonstick Baking Spray
• Parchment Paper
• 1 roll Colorful Ribbon (1/8 to 1/4- inch wide), Twine, or String
Tools
Mixing Spoon
Rolling Pins
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 200°F. Place the rack in the center position. Prepare a large baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Next, line the work area with butcher paper to prevent your counters or table from becoming stained. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt until well combined. In a glass measuring cup, stir in the water and optional food coloring or paint. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and slowly pour in the colored water, starting with half the amount and adding more as needed to form a firm dough that is moist but not sticky. Stir well. Knead the dough with your hands for approximately 10 minutes (on top of the parchment paper), or until the dough has become smooth and the color is distributed throughout. 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)
Making The Salt Dough Ornaments
Firstly, place the dough on parchment paper and use a rolling pin to flatten it to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Then, use any cookie cutters you like to cut out shapes of the dough. You may also use various items to stamp the dough to create texture or personalize the ornaments with initials, last name or a year, using alphabet stamps. If there are any leftover scraps, knead them, roll them again and cut out additional ornaments. Repeat this process until all the dough is used up. Once you have cut out the ornaments, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Use a straw to cut a small hole near the top of each ornament, where you want to hang it from. Remember to discard the small circular piece of dough that you remove to create the hole.
Baking The Salt Dough Ornaments
Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour, or until dry. Flip the ornaments halfway through baking so that the underneath side can dry out as well. When done baking, remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. After they have cooled down, you can use acrylic paint to add your personal touch. Finally, thread a ribbon or string through the holes and tie them to hang on the tree.
