Salt dough ornaments are super easy to make and will last for many years to come. Salt dough is made with salt, flour, and water.
This easy kids craft project is especially popular for the holidays for salt dough ornaments and hand prints. It’s a wonderful family activity and Christmas craft around the holidays for beautiful, handmade ornaments that will last for decades!
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.
For some creative homemade DIY Christmas gifts, be sure and check out Caramel Apples, Barbecue Sauce, Mixed Berry Jam, and Raspberry Rhubarb Jam.
Or make a Christmas cookie tray filled with Chewy Fudge Brownies, Molasses Cookies, Raspberry Bars, and rolled sugar cookies. Or make these beautiful homemade Christmas cookies made from a rolled sugar cookie and decorated with royal icing. One of my absolute favorite holiday desserts is my grandma’s Cream Puffs.
Supplies needed to create Salt Dough Ornaments
- disposable straws
- sharp knife
- spatula
- baking sheets and parchment paper
- shaped cookie cutters (This is the cute vintage truck cookie cutter with Christmas tree that I use!)
- acrylic paint
- an assortment of brushes
- small disposable plates
- disposable cup with water
- oil-based polyurethane
- small sponge brushes
- Kraft paper
- disposable rubber gloves
How to make Salt Dough Ornaments
Step 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.
Step 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. Iit will close up a bit during the baking process!)
How do you bake salt dough ornaments so they harden?
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. See painting instructions below.
Salt dough ornaments take a while to dry in the oven. The reason you want the oven as low as it will go and it takes so many hours is so they do not puff up and become distorted.
What’s the best way to paint and decorate salt dough ornaments?
Step 1: To 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.
Step 2: Once they are fully painted, you can apply a few layers of polyurethane to seal the ornaments and help them last for years to come.
What kind of paint do you use on Salt Dough Ornaments?
Acrylic paint is the best for painting on salt dough. It’s water based and will wash off your hands easily for quick cleanup. It also rinses out of brushes easily.
Step 3: To seal the paint, 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.
Salt Dough FAQs
Acrylic paint is the best for painting on salt dough. It’s water based and will wash off your hands easily for quick cleanup. It also rinses out of brushes easily.
PRO TIP: I use a rubber glove on my left hand and apply the poly with my right hand. 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.
More Christmas DIY Gifts
- Christmas Sugar Cookies
- Spritz Cookies
- Caramel Apples
- Barbecue Sauce
- Marinara Sauce
- Dill Pickles
- Bread & Butter Pickles
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Salt Dough Ornaments
Ingredients
Salt Dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup salt
- 1 cup water
Instructions
Salt Dough
- 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 carefully 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.
- 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)
- 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.
Prep Salt Dough Ornaments 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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Gladys Nava says
Wow! This is so cute. I should try to prepare this recipe for coming Christmas. Love it.
Jessica Robinson says
Thanks so much Gladys!
Alvern @ Success Unscrambled says
These look really cool to make and can even be used to start a great family tradition that will encourage the family every year to spend time together making new ones and going down memory lane.
Tara Pittman says
These look like store bought ones. You did a great job on painting them.
Jessica Robinson says
Thanks so much Tara!
Samantha Immer says
So beautiful! I love DIY ornaments. The amount of detail in these is stunning.
Jessica Robinson says
Don’t you just LOVE DIY crafts and holiday gifts?! Thanks for visiting!
Amber Myers says
I love these! I really need to make some with my kids. My daughter especially loves to craft.
Jessica Robinson says
Thanks Amber!
Scott Robinson says
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.
Caroline says
Perfect, thank you! I wasn’t sure if it would mess up the consistency if I added extra dry ingredients.
Jessica Robinson says
Caroline, I’m so happy they worked for you!
Caroline says
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?
Jessica Robinson says
Think if you added a good amount of cinnamon to this recipe, you’d get what you were looking for.
Jessica Robinson says
Yes, Salt dough ornaments take quite a bit of time to dry in the oven. Low and slow. Otherwise they puff up and crack.
Kathleen Jakee says
How fun is this.
Deb says
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?
Jessica Robinson says
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
Ruth says
The last Santa cutter can still be purchased from Aunt Chick’s web site.
Elia says
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
Jessica Robinson says
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
Savannah says
Where did you get your cookie cutters? I love these!
Jessica Robinson says
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.
Rochelle says
These look amazing! I’m so inspired.