Does anyone else have kids who love to craft? One of my kids especially could spend her days creating and crafting. So when I find simple and inexpensive DIYs, we like to try them out. This year, we made some salt dough keepsakes. A few years ago we made them into ornaments. Since you’re making something from dough, it’s really up to you what you want to do. You can cut them into shapes, paint them, use them as a mold, put holes in them to create ornaments. Really anything goes here–I’m just going to share the simple 3-ingredient recipe and let you run wild with it:)
Ingredients: 1/2 cup salt, 1/2 cup (or less) warm water, 1 cup flour. Yes, that is it!!
Directions: Combine flour and salt. Slowly pour in water until it creates a dough. I needed well under 1/2 cup but it all depends on humidity, etc. Once a soft dough has formed, knead it for around 10 minutes. Ideally you want a soft, smooth dough without air bubbles. Roll it out to about 1/4″. Then use cookie cutters or a mason jar lid to cut into desired shapes. If you want to press anything into the dough (like a paw print or a child’s handprint, do it now!) Also, if you want to use the shapes as ornaments, use a straw to poke a hole near the top of the shape.
Once shapes are cut out, prints are made and holes are cut, lay the shapes onto a cookie sheet and bake at 250 for 3+ hours. Yes, they take a long time to harden in the oven. I just kept checking on them every 15-30 minutes to make sure they weren’t browning. Alternately, you can allow these to air dry but they will take several days. Once the shapes are dry, feel free to paint them or decorate as you like.
***If you have pets, please keep these out of reach. One year, my dogs took down our tree when they were snacking on salt dough ornaments. Enough dough can be toxic to dogs (my pups were fine but the ornaments were not;)
