Happy Sunday friends. How are we only 10 days out from Christmas?! I have so much I’ve been wanting to share in the way of festive decor and crafts. I thought I’d start with one for the kids since school is almost out and if you have a little(s) one like me, lining up entertainment and projects makes the days go smoothly! So if you are looking for a fun craft to do this week or maybe even a little homemade present for grandparents… Salt dough ornaments are the perfect craft to do with kids (or in my case both toddler and pets!) Truly, this is nothing new and people have been making salt dough for years. But you can paint them and decorate so many different ways to put your own special touch on them. We chose Santas and The Grinch for grandparent gifts. I used them as little gift toppers instead of a bow.
What you need:
First to bake them –
2 cups of flour
1/2 cup of salt
3/4 – 1 cup of water
Combine salt and flour in a mixing bowl (mix as if making cookies). Slowly add in the 3/4 cup of warm water while continuing to mix for approximately 2-3 minutes. If the dough still seems dry and flaky add a bit more warm water until it resembles a play dough like texture. Continue to knead the dough with your hands until it is soft. Using parchment paper as a base, roll out the dough to about 1/8″ thickness (any thicker will make the ornaments crack when baking). Using hand prints or cookie cutters, make all of your shapes. Continue to roll out the excess dough each time and make more shapes until it’s gone. Using a straw, “stamp” each one to make the hole for ribbon to be able to hang your ornament! Using parchment paper again, lay out the ornaments on a baking sheet. Bake at 225 for approximately 2 hours (I checked on mine more often to make sure they weren’t cracking). Let them cool completely.
Now for the fun part! We used acrylic paint to paint the faces and a variety of pretty ribbons. For our dog and cats paw print, I painted the print with a metallic gold which helped it to stand out more. You could glue Pom Poms, sparkles, anything really to make them extra festive. My only hot tip, is have a plan in place for who’s hand and paw you are stamping or what shapes you want to make as the dough does dry fairly quick.
Happy crafting!
