After lunch this afternoon, the boys and I worked on making salt dough Christmas ornaments. I thought this would be a nice craft that we could all do together and the boys have been asking for a batch of homemade play dough for a while. Salt dough is pretty much the same thing as homemade play dough so we were killing two birds with one stone- Christmas gifts and tactile fun!
Salt Dough Recipe
- 1 cup of flour
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1/2 cup water
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl until a soft, elastic ball of dough forms. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a floured surface. Knead the dough for a minute or so then roll out to approximately 1/4″ thickness. Cut out desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place shapes on parchment papered cookie sheet. Make ribbon holes in the shapes using a drinking straw. Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until baked thoroughly.
When ornaments are thoroughly baked, allow to cool then decorate using acrylic paints, glitter, confetti, etc. I used a layer of Mod Podge to seal them. Thread and tie a piece of Christmas-y ribbon through the ribbon hole and you’re done!
There are many variations to this recipe that you can try as well. You can add food coloring or paint to the water before adding it to the flour and salt for tinted dough. Adding a tablespoon of vegetable oil makes the dough easier to knead, although kneading was absolutely no problem when I made a batch. A tablespoon of wallpaper paste gives the dough more elasticity. A tablespoon of lemon juice makes the final shapes harder. Of course, a few drops of peppermint or vanilla extract would be lovely too for scented dough.
We set aside our baked ornaments and got on with the activities of the afternoon. Namely nap time for the boys… After naps, dinner and a spin around town looking at Christmas lights (in the rain), we set to work decorating our salt dough ornaments.
The boys loved painting and glittering the ornaments!
I think they turned out wonderfully!
Cutie Pie does too.
Adventures of Four 