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Salt dough ornaments

January 9, 2018 by Jessica Robinson 16 Comments

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These adorable Homemade salt dough ornaments are super easy to make and will last for many years to come. Made with salt, flour, and water.

salt dough santa faces drying on brown kraft paper

The holidays are over and our tree is put away.  For some reason, I always think I can accomplish way more than I can during the busy holiday season.  Now that things have calmed down a bit and I have some time, I’ve been painting salt dough ornaments with the kids.  I made the actual cookies a few weeks prior to Christmas with the grand hopes of getting them done for teacher’s gifts and such, but got too busy and never had the time.  Winter is a great time for me and I can spend some of my afternoons and weekends relaxing and painting.

To create Salt Dough Ornaments, you’ll need a few things:

straws

sharp knife

spatula

baking sheets and parchment paper

shaped cookie cutters

acrylic paint

an assortment of brushes

small disposable plates

disposable cup with water

oil-based polyurethane

small sponge brushes

Kraft paper

rubber gloves

Salt dough ornament santa faces drying

Santa salt dough ornaments with gray dry brushed beardssalt dough ornaments before being paintedTo prep them for paint, I blow off any excess flour and paint the entire cookie with white acrylic paint as a base coat.  Set aside and let them dry thoroughly.  Apply a coat of white acrylic paint as a base coat to all of the cookies.  Set on Kraft paper to dry thoroughly.  I like to work in an assembly line of sorts.  I start with red, for example and by the time I’m done painting that color they are dry and I can move on to the next color.   Once they are all done you can go back and touch up any spots of paint you are not happy with. (For my Santa ornaments, I paint the beard white and then dry brush on gray for added texture.  Same for his cheeks with a little bit of blush for added color.)  Let them dry well.  You’ll want to apply a thin layer of oil-based polyurethane to each side, one side at a time.  Apply about 3-4 coats per side and let dry thoroughly in between coats.  Set them on Kraft paper as they dry.  They should last for many years to come.

TIPS: I use a rubber glove on my left hand and apply the poly with my right hand.  You’ll want to use oil-based polyurethane since it tends not to yellow as much as water-based poly. Make sure to get the poly into all the crevices of the ornaments.  Keep the sponge brush fresh in a small plastic bag for in between coats.  Once you have one or two coats on the backside of the ornaments, you can write the date and/or your name with a black Sharpie.

 

salt dough santa faces drying on brown kraft paper
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Salt Dough Ornaments

Make these adorable Salt Dough Ornaments at home and give handmade gifts for the holidays. Easy to make and kid-friendly.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup salt
  • 1 cup water

Instructions

  1. Mix the above ingredients in a bowl and roll out on a lightly floured surface to your desired thickness. You'll want to lightly flour the surface of the dough once rolled out, so your cookie cutters don't stick. Cut out your desired shapes (I found really cool vintage cookie cutters on Ebay) and lift them up with the spatula. Place the cookie shape into your left hand and smooth out the edges with your right (opposite if you are left handed). Slide gently onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.
  2. Put a hole in the top of the cookie with a disposable straw. Twist the straw around in a circular motion to make the hole a little bigger. (it will close up a bit during the baking process)
  3. Bake at 170-200 degrees for about 12-15 hours. You'll need to bake them at this low temperature for a long period of time so they don't puff up or curl. Once they are done, let them cool fully.
  4. To prep them for paint:

    Brush off any excess flour and paint the entire cookie with white acrylic paint as a base coat. Set aside and let them dry thoroughly. Apply a coat of white acrylic paint as a base coat to all of the cookies. Set on Kraft paper to dry thoroughly. I like to work in an assembly line of sorts. I start with red, for example and by the time I'm done painting that color they are dry and I can move on to the next color. Once they are all done you can go back and touch up any spots of paint you are not happy with. (For my Santa ornaments, I paint the beard white and then dry brush on gray for added texture. Same for his cheeks with a little bit of blush for added color.) Let them dry well. You'll want to apply a thin layer of oil-based polyurethane to each side, one side at a time. Apply about 3-4 coats per side and let dry thoroughly in between coats. Set them on Kraft paper as they dry. They should last for many years to come.

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Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: kids craft project, salt dough ornaments, salt dough recipe, Santa ornaments, santa salt dough ornaments

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Comments

  1. Rochelle says

    October 30, 2014 at 12:53 am

    These look amazing! I’m so inspired.

    Reply
  2. Savannah says

    November 11, 2014 at 3:10 pm

    Where did you get your cookie cutters? I love these!

    Reply
    • Jessica Robinson says

      November 13, 2014 at 7:48 pm

      Savannah,
      I got the cookie cutters on Ebay. Look for Aunt Chick’s cookie cutters on either Ebay or Etsy. Or search on Ebay for vintage cookie cutters. Hallmark made many that were great too.

      Reply
  3. Elia says

    November 24, 2014 at 5:38 am

    Hi my name is Elia Maldonado I have question on the dough I have tried it but for some reason it is not turning out good my first Bach they were ok but nect one not so good, do I have yo put them in the oven or just let them air dry? Could you please help me I’m doing 120400 for crafts for Christmas for my grand daughter’s school.

    Thank you
    Elia Maldonado

    Reply
    • Jessica Robinson says

      November 24, 2014 at 4:33 pm

      Hello Elia,
      I roll out the dough, cut with cookie cutters. Put shapes on a parchment lined cookie sheet. USE a straw to make hole to hang ornaments, make it bigger than you think- it closes up a bit during baking process. Bake in a 170-200 degree oven for about 12 plus hours. until they are fully dried out. let cool then paint and poly

      Reply
  4. Ruth says

    December 4, 2014 at 3:24 am

    The last Santa cutter can still be purchased from Aunt Chick’s web site.

    Reply
  5. Deb says

    December 5, 2014 at 9:14 pm

    How did you get get the grooves on the Santa and the tractor to be so clean? I dragged a toothpick across one of my ornaments and the line was all bumpy. I tried cutting with the tip of a knife and the whole thing slipped around, making it challenging to cut. How did you do it? Special pottery tools?

    Reply
    • Jessica Robinson says

      December 8, 2014 at 9:40 pm

      Grooves so clean-
      I roll out the salt dough to the desired thickness. Place the cookie cutter you’ll use next to the dough to make sure it’s thick enough/thin enough. Sprinkle a little flour on the rolled out dough and spread with your hand, so the dough doesn’t stick to your cookie cutter. Press the cookie cutter down firmly. Then if needed take a paring knife and cut the outer edges of the cookie shape, to make a clean cut. Hold the unbaked cookie in your left hand and smooth out the edges with your other hand/fingers. Hopefully this answers your question

      Reply
  6. Kathleen Jakee says

    February 17, 2016 at 4:24 pm

    How fun is this.

    Reply
  7. Lucy says

    November 17, 2016 at 3:13 pm

    What!!? 12 to 15 hrs in the oven????!! Are you serious??

    Reply
    • Jessica Robinson says

      November 17, 2016 at 3:16 pm

      Yes, Salt dough ornaments take quite a bit of time to dry in the oven. Low and slow. Otherwise they puff up and crack.

      Reply
  8. Caroline says

    December 7, 2016 at 2:03 am

    My mom used to make something similar to these when I was a kid (used the same swirly Santa face cookie cutter too!). Hers were brown and smelled like Christmas to me, so do you know if you could add cinnamon to this to get that effect?

    Reply
    • Jessica Robinson says

      December 7, 2016 at 5:36 pm

      Think if you added a good amount of cinnamon to this recipe, you’d get what you were looking for.

      Reply
  9. Caroline says

    December 10, 2016 at 9:18 pm

    Perfect, thank you! I wasn’t sure if it would mess up the consistency if I added extra dry ingredients.

    Reply
    • Jessica Robinson says

      December 10, 2016 at 10:58 pm

      Caroline, I’m so happy they worked for you!

      Reply
  10. Scott Robinson says

    March 26, 2018 at 7:53 pm

    Every Year Jessie makes these with our two boys. They love working with there mom in the kitchen and look forward to it every year. I enjoy watching come up with different ways to paint them and special little details that make each one unique in it’s own way. Christmas is a very special time in our house hold in this is one of the many things we do as a family that make it that way.

    Reply

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Meet Jessica

Jessica Robinson is the editor, recipe developer and photographer of A Farmgirl’s Kitchen, a blog which features local food and farming, household tips, old-fashioned recipes, ideas for backyard entertaining, and life behind the scenes at the farm. Jessica was raised on a small farm in Connecticut, click here →

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