Salt Dough Ornaments painted white, red, silver, and gold lay on a white background.

One of our favorite kid craft projects in our houseโ€”especially around the holidaysโ€”is homemade salt dough! My kid loves making salt dough ornaments, handprints, and other sculptures, and I love that I almost always have the supplies on hand to mix up this salt dough recipe. 

We almost always do a day of making salt dough ornaments in December in our home. It’s a wonderful family activity that ends with us having beautiful ornaments that will last for decades! Let me show you the exact salt dough recipe that we’ve used for years in our houseโ€”you will not be disappointed!

A painted salt dough ornament hangs from a red ribbon on a green Christmas tree.

What ingredients do you need to make this salt dough recipe?

The recipe for these ornaments doesn’t get any easier. You need exactly three ingredients to get you going (scroll down to the bottom of the post for a printable version):

  • All-purpose flour (4 cups)โ€”I recommend sticking with all-purpose flour here because it’s affordable, it’s easy to work with, and it creates the most consistent color. Bleached all-purpose flour is best, but unbleached works, too. Since you aren’t ingesting this at all, go ahead and get the bargain basement generic brand flour to save yourself some cash. Save the whole wheat flour for making waffles or baking bread!
  • Table salt (1 cup)โ€”Again, make sure to add the salt to preserve these ornaments! Just like with the flour, go with the generic brand table salt hereโ€”reserve your high-end Himalayan sea salt for cooking.
  • Warm water (1 1/2 cups)โ€”The warm water helps the dough come together a little bit easier. Plus, you’ll knead the dough with your hands, and warm dough is so much more comfortable to knead in the winter!

The ingredients for the salt dough recipeโ€”flour, salt, and waterโ€”lie flay on a white countertop.

Why do you need salt in salt dough ornaments?

The large volume of salt makes this dough not-so-tasty, which is a good thing when you have the littlest elves helping you and they are determined to take a sample taste of the craft project. While the dough isn’t toxic, it isn’t exactly recommended anyone eat it. After all, consuming raw flour has been linked to e. coli outbreaks

Secondly, and probably most importantly, salt is an excellent preservative. If you left the salt out of the recipe below, and just mixed together water and flour, you would end up creating a near-perfect little homestead for mold to set up shop inโ€”not so great if you want to keep these ornaments in a box in the basement for the majority of the year. 

Multiple salt dough ornaments painted in gold, red, and black lie flat on a white background.

What tools will you need to make salt dough ornaments and crafts?

Chances are, you’ll have all the tools you need to make these ornaments already in your house. Here’s a general list of what we used to make the ornaments pictured here:

  • Mixing bowl and large spoon
  • Parchment paper
  • Rolling pin
  • Cookie cutters
  • Forks, steel wool, rubber stamps, other textural itemsโ€”optional, to add texture to the ornaments
  • Straw or toothpickโ€”for poking a hole for the ornaments to hang from
  • Baking sheet
  • White spray paintโ€”optional, for giving the ornaments an even background to decorate
  • Glitter, glue, paint, Mod Podgeโ€”optional, for decorating, or leave the rustic salt dough ornaments
  • Polyurethane spray (like this one) or Mod Podgeโ€”optional, for extra preservation power
  • Ribbonโ€”for hanging the ornaments

Multiple salt dough ornaments painted in gold, red, and black lie flat on a white background.

How do you make salt dough?

Mixing up a batch the salt dough recipe itself couldn’t be easier! Here’s how to do it:

  1. Grab your large mixing bowl, and add in the flour and salt. Stir until well combined. Then, slowly stream in the warm water while stirring. Keep stirring until you’ve added all the water.
  2. You’ll get to a point where it is too hard to stir with a spoon. Put it down and use your hands to get in there and mix it well.
  3. Once the dough starts to come together, keep kneading with your hands for a few minutes until the dough is smooth and pliable.

Step-by-step photos of making salt dough. Mixing ingredients in glass bowl with wooden spoon.

Now that your salt dough is made, you can use it just like you would modeling clay to make sculptures, or you can roll it and cut it out to make ornaments or salt dough handprints.

How do you roll out and cut salt dough ornaments?

If you’ve ever rolled and cut out sugar cookies, you’ll be an expert at doing with the salt dough! Here’s the process:

  1. Put down a large piece of parchment paper, and place a good-sized chunk of dough in the middle. Place another large piece of parchment on top.
  2. Roll out the dough until 1/8″ thick. You want to err on the side of a thinner dough. Too thick, and the ornaments tend to split or break easily because of air pockets that get trapped in the middle.
  3. Remove the top sheet of parchment, and then and then use cookie cutters to cut into the dough cut into the doughโ€”do not try to remove the cut out pieces! You want those to stay on the parchment.
  4. When you’re finished cutting the pieces, peel away the excess dough, leaving behind the shapes on the parchment.
  5. Take a drinking straw, and poke a hole in the top of each ornament for a ribbon to hang from. Make sure to blow out the plug in the end of the drinking straw before you go to the next ornament. Trust me, I’ve ruined a good stainless steel straw or two by forgetting the dough inside and having it drying rock-solid inside!

Step by step process of rolling and cutting salt dough ornaments on white background.

Wholefully Protip

I like to put texture into my ornaments, so this is where I bring out any random object that has a fun textureโ€”forks, straws, steel wool, other cookie cutters, scissors. There are no rules! You can also use rubber stamps.

A hand uses a fork to add texture to a heart-shaped salt dough ornament.

How do you bake salt dough ornaments so they harden?

Transfer the whole parchment paper and shapes onto a baking sheet. Bake the ornaments in a 300ยฐF oven for about an hour. This isn’t an exact science, because inevitably, your shapes won’t be 100% even in thickness. They are done when they feel hard. They are really done if they start to brown (no worries, that’s something we can fix later!). Let the ornaments cool completely before proceeding to the next step.

Tight view of various shapes of baked, undecorated salt dough ornaments.

Do I have to bake my salt dough ornaments?

Not technically, no. You could leave the ornaments out to air dry, but it may take more time and effort. The drying process will probably take several days, depending on how thick the ornaments are and how humid it is. You’ll also need to flip the salt dough ornaments several times to keep the edges from curling. If you can, we recommend baking your salt dough creations!

Why did my salt dough puff up?

Salt dough projects tend to get puffy or bubble if the dough is too thick or if it isn’t rolled out evenly. If the ornaments have air bubbles within them, that can also cause a puffiness.  

What’s the best way to paint and decorate salt dough ornaments?

Now we get to the really fun partโ€”decorating! If you prefer the rustic, classic look of the salt dough, you can hang the ornaments as-is. But I think part of the fun of making salt dough ornaments is getting out the glitter and making a holiday mess.

Before I start decorating, I like to mist all of my cooled ornaments with a thin coat of white spray paint. This helps cover up any irregularities in color (like when some got too brown from baking), and I think it helps the ornaments looks more like clay than hard bread. A light coating will dry to the touch in just a few minutes so you can keep decorating. Of course, this part is totally optional!

Wholefully Protip

An optional light coat of white spray paint on the ornaments gives them a nice blank canvas for decorating and painting.

Overhead view of various salt-dough oranment shapes on a piece of cardboard that have been spray painted white.

Once the spray paint is dry to the touch, I paint using acrylic paints and brushes (puffy paints would also work wonderfully). I like to use the textural spaces to help guide where I put paintโ€”but it’s really up to you to get creative on how you want to decorate. Where I want glitter, I use Mod Podge or school glue. It’s a fun, carefree way to spend a holiday afternoon!

Hand uses a small paintbrush to paint gold details on a salt-dough ornament. A paint palette sits nearby with extra paint brushes.
A salt dough ornament covered in white glitter sits on a white background with a bottle of Mod Podge and glitter in the background.

How do you protect your salt dough ornaments to make sure they last?

Once all your decorating is dry, it behooves you to seal these ornaments so they last a good, long while. While the salt does an excellent job of preserving the salt dough itself, sealing the ornaments will help keep all the decorations you just lovingly applied looking great for years to come. I like to use spray poly, but coating each one in a thin layer of Mod Podge would also do the trick. I just do one coat on each side and let it dry completely. I like to use matte or satin finish poly so the ornaments still feel like unfinished clay, but if you dig the glossy look, use semi-gloss or glossy poly or Mod Podge.

A hand sprays polyurethane onto finished salt dough ornaments.

String up the ornaments using pretty ribbon or twine, and then put those beautiful new ornaments on your Christmas tree! These also make wonderful, thoughtful gifts. We tend to make either a batch of these, my Cinnamon Ornaments, or these Bird Seed Ornaments each year to give as stocking stuffers to friends and family.

A sparkly snowflake shaped salt dough ornament hangs from a Christmas tree with a red ribbon. Christmas lights and red sparkly ornaments are blurry in the background.
Multiple salt dough ornaments painted in gold, red, and black lie flat on a white background.

How do you make a salt dough handprint ornaments?

Salt dough handprint ornaments (or pawprints!) are a great way to mark major milestones in your life! Here’s how to do it:

  1. Roll out the dough as directed above, making it slightly thicker than you would for regular ornaments.
  2. Evenly press the hand or foot in the dough.
  3. Cut around the handprint or footprint using the rim of a bowl or glass. You might be tempted to do the other way around (cut out the shape first, then get the handprint), but trust me on this oneโ€”wiggly, squirmy babies do not know how to center their hands into a shape! You’re better off having a large piece of salt dough to “catch” the print, and then cutting out around it.
  4. Proceed with the baking, decorating, and sealing steps.

This is a salt dough handprint ornament we made to mark our daughter’s first Christmas. Her hand was so tiny. *sniff* *sniff*

A hand holds a salt dough handprint ornament hanging from a red ribbon. The background is a blurry Christmas tree with lights.

Wholefully Protip

I recommend making more than one of precious  handprint ornaments! Salt dough is incredibly affordable, so you can make lots of “copies” for just pennies more. While salt dough preserves well, it is still breakable.

We’ve included a printable version of this recipe for easy reference. We have a copy printed out and stashed with our holiday craft box, so it’s easy to access every year! Happy crafting.

 
Salt Dough Recipe for Ornaments, Handprints, and Crafting

Salt Dough Recipe for Ornaments, Handprints, and Crafting

Yield: 30 ornaments
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Salt dough is a fun craft to do with the kids! Mix up a batch of our salt dough recipe for making Christmas ornaments, keepsake handprints, or other salt dough crafts.

PLEASE NOTE: A number of readers have had issues with their ornaments puffing and losing their shape. We haven't been able to replicate this in our own kitchens yet, but if you're concerned, we recommend lowering the oven temperature to 200ยฐF and leaving them in for longer.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup table salt
  • 1 1/2 cups warm water
  • Glitter, paint, and ribbon, for decoration
  • Polyurethane spray, for preservation

Instructions

To Make Dough

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Slowly stream in the water while stirring until it comes together. Finish mixing together with hands. Knead until dough is soft, about five minutes.

To Bake Ornaments

  1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Place half of the dough between two large pieces of parchment paper. Roll out until 1/8" thick. Remove the top sheet of parchment.
  2. Using cookie cutters, cut shapes (leaving them on the parchment). Peel away the excess dough. Transfer the parchment with shapes to a baking sheet.
  3. Using a straw or toothpick, poke a hole for ribbon or an ornament hanger. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until hard.
  4. Once cooled, decorate using glitter and paint. To make sure the ornaments last a long time (I have one from 30 years ago!), spray with a light coat of polyurethane spray. Thread on a ribbon and hang on tree.

Looking for more fun holiday crafts and gifts? Check these out:

  • Cinnamon Ornaments. Looking for another easy holiday ornament craft? You can’t beat our cinnamon ornaments. They smell great and are a blast to make with kids!
  • Bird Seed Ornaments. These simple handmade ornaments will bring all the birds to your yard!
  • Soup Mixes in a Jar. These affordable gifts in a jar are easy to pull together and make a thoughtful teacher’s gifts, hostess gifts, or gifts for friends and family.
  • M&M Cookie Mix in Jar. We gave these M&M Cookie Mixes as gifts a few years back, and everyone absolutely loved them! The cookies that are made from the mix are the BEST.
  • Homemade Hot Sauce. Give the gift of some heat! We’ll teach you just how easy it is to make your own homemade hot sauce.

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87 Comments

  1. First time making salt dough ornaments and three of the five puffed up. I baked them at a slightly lower temp based on reviews, but maybe not low enough (280 F). They also browned a fair amount, but were not hard after an hour so I had to leave them in longer. I also added a tiny bit of extra water as the amount in the recipe didn’t quite wet all the flour. If I try again I will bake at 200, and try to roll out even thinner I guess. I was hoping these would be super easy, but it seems there’s an art to it.
    I did at least end up with two workable ornaments with my baby girl’s foot prints though!

    1. Hi Theresa! We’re partial to puffy paints and glitter glue, but whatever craft supplies you have should be fine. Just be aware that you may need to let them dry again if whatever you use is too wet or if you go a little overboard like we usually do! ; )

    1. Hi KT! Hopefully you found this in the recipe, but the baking time is in step three: “Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until hard.”

  2. I made these ornaments and they puffed up. However, I did add extra water and floured my work surface. Those extra things may have made the difference in making the ornaments puff up.

  3. First time making them and they puffed up. The kids are 2 & 3 so they donโ€™t care and we still plan to decorate them! Did 300 for 1 hour.

    1. Hi Liz! We’re so sorry your ornaments puffed up, but we’re glad they’re still useable! That can happen if the dough is too thick, it’s not rolled out evenly, or if air bubbles are caught in the dough. Does it sound like that could have been what happened? We hope you and the kids have so much fun decorating!

  4. My mom and I followed your instructions exactly as listed, but chilled the dough in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before rolling it out because it was a bit sticky. They came out perfect! Baking at 300 degrees for 1 hour worked out great. The recipe yielded so many ornaments! Weโ€™re having a little get together and will start the night off with decorating the ornaments followed by some games. Thank you so much for this idea. Merry Christmas!

    1. Thanks so much for letting us know how it went for you! We appreciate you taking the time to tell us about your experience. =)

  5. I absolutely love trying out all the fun ideas you publish on here! I even use some of the crafts for work type things such as rapport building activities or just to de-stress. You are awesome!

  6. My ornaments puffed as well.

    Last year, I made salt dough ornaments and they didn’t puff like this- the difference is that I had baked them at a lower temperature for longer.

    I recommend any one who is making them to do that instead.