Salt Dough Ornaments
These homemade salt dough ornaments are one of our favorite family crafts during Christmas! This recipe is so easy to follow, and you probably already have all the ingredients you need on hand.
Why You'll Love This Salt Dough Recipe
This is the exact salt dough recipe my family has used for decades! So you can feel good that these ornaments will turn out great every time. Here's a few reason why this is the best recipe out there:
- No speciality ingredients or tools needed here! You probably have everything you need already in your pantry.
- This is such an easy and affordable holiday activity for the whole family. For just a few pennies, you can spend your afternoon connecting over a fun craft.
- Looking for budget-friendly handmade gift ideas? Salt dough ornaments are here to save the day!
- The dough is smooth and easy to work with. No sticky hands, messy counters (okay, maybe a little), or sensory overload.
- You can feel good that these ornaments will last. In fact, I still hang an ornament on my Christmas tree each year that I made as a kiddo in 1987 using this exact same recipe!
What You'll Need
Go ahead and open up your pantry, because I'm pretty sure you have everything you need to make basic ornaments on hand already. You'll need:
- All-purpose flour-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 pumpkin waffles or baking bread!
- Table salt-Again, make sure to add the salt to preserve these ornaments! Just like with the flour, go with the generic brand table salt here-reserve your high-end Himalayan sea salt for cooking.
- Warm water-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!
As far as other tools and materials, chances are, you'll have almost everything already in your house. Here's a list of the exact tools I used to make the ornaments seen in these photos:
- Mixing bowl and large spoon
- Parchment paper
- Rolling pin
- Cookie cutters
- Forks, steel wool, rubber stamps, other textural items-optional, to add texture to the ornaments
- Straw or toothpick-for poking a hole for the ornaments to hang from
- Baking sheet
- White spray paint-optional, for giving the ornaments an even background to decorate
- Glitter, glue, paint, Mod Podge-optional, for decorating, or leave the rustic salt dough ornaments
- Polyurethane spray (like this one) or Mod Podge-optional, for extra preservation power
- Ribbon-for hanging the ornaments
Watch The Video
How to Make Salt Dough Ornaments
Follow along with my numbered instructions and step-by-step photos to see exactly how we make these ornaments each Christmas:
Mix up the dough
- 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.
- 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.
- Once the dough starts to come together, keep kneading with your hands for a few minutes until the dough is smooth and pliable.
Form and shape your ornaments
- 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.
- Roll out the dough until ⅛" 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.
- Remove the top sheet of parchment, and then and then use cookie cutters to cut into the dough cut into the dough-do not try to remove the cut out pieces! You want those to stay on the parchment.
- When you're finished cutting the pieces, peel away the excess dough, leaving behind the shapes on the parchment. This is a great time to add any texture to the dough if you want to-like by poking holes with a fork or dappling with a straw.
- 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!
Baking the ornaments
- Preheat oven to 200°F.
- Transfer the whole parchment paper and shapes onto a baking sheet. Bake the ornaments until hard. Start checking at about an hour, but it could take up to two. 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.
Decorating, preserving, and hanging
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.
- Optional, but 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.
- 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 paint-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, then add glitter, shaking off the excess onto old newspaper.
- Sealing the ornaments will help keep all the decorations you just lovingly applied looking great for years to come. Once the decorations are dry, I like to use spray poly, but coating each one in a thin layer of Mod Podge would also do the trick.
- String up the ornaments using pretty ribbon or twine, and then put those beautiful new ornaments on your Christmas tree!
How to Make Salt Dough Handprints
Salt dough handprint ornaments (or pawprints!) are a great way to mark major milestones in your life! Here's how to do it:
- Roll out the dough as directed above, making it very slightly thicker than you would for regular ornaments.
- Evenly press the hand or foot in the dough.
- 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 one-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.
- Proceed with the baking, decorating, and sealing steps.
Variations and Substitutions
There are a few ways to make these ornaments your own, here's some of the variations on this method I've tried out over the years:
- Bake it faster: I've baked these at 300°F with good (and fast) results, but you do have to watch them like a hawk to prevent burning.
- Air-dry them: You could leave the ornaments out to air dry, but 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.
- Coloring the dough: Add in a few drops of food coloring to your dough before baking will result in a nicely colored dough, just know that the colors will slightly shift in the oven (just like they do when you are baking cookies or cupcakes)
Troubleshooting
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.
My salt dough burned on the edges, but is still soft in the middle!
I know I sound like a broken record, but this is typically a result of the dough not being rolled out evenly. Or could be an oven with hot spots. For the next batch, try rotating your cookie sheet in the oven every 10-15 minutes. If you are still getting burnt spots, try covering the cookie sheet lightly with foil while the middle finishes cooking.
Salt Dough Tips and Tricks
Looking for more Christmas crafts and gifts?
- 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!
- How to Make Ice Cream From Snow.Lucky enough to have a white Christmas? Make snow ice cream!
- 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.
- How to Make 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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📖 Recipe
Salt Dough Recipe for Ornaments, Handprints, and Crafting
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.
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Servings: 30 ornaments
Equipment
- Glitter, paint, and ribbon for decoration
- Polyurethane spray for preservation
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup table salt
- 1 ½ cups warm water
Instructions
To Make Dough
- 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
- Preheat oven to 200°F. Place half of the dough between two large pieces of parchment paper. Roll out until ⅛" thick. Remove the top sheet of parchment.
- Using cookie cutters, cut shapes (leaving them on the parchment). Peel away the excess dough. Transfer the parchment with shapes to a baking sheet.
- Using a straw or toothpick, poke a hole for ribbon or an ornament hanger. Bake in the preheated oven until hard, starting to check at the hour mark. It could take as much as two hours.
- 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.
Video
Notes
- This recipe was originally posted with an oven temp of 300°F. While we've made many batches at this temperature successfully, some of you had poor results with this higher temperature. So, we adjusted the recipe to use a lower oven temperature for a longer bake time.
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The whole family LOVED making these salt ornaments. We ordered special cookie cutters for each kid 🥰🥰
YAY! We're so glad you and the fam had a great time making ornaments together, Lee! Thanks so much for coming back to tell us about it. 😊
I want to make these for my toddler/preschool classroom. Is there an estimate of how many handprints I can make with this recipe? Should I double it, to be safe? And can I prep this dough at home and bring it to class, or is it best to do it fresh?
Hi Olivia! We estimate about 30 ornaments, but it will really depend on the size of everyone's hands. It might be better to make a second batch just in case! As for prepping the dough at home, that depends on how far in advance and how well you can wrap it up. We don't generally recommend making the dough in advance because it will start to dry out. But if you make it in the morning before school and can wrap it up really, really well, then it might be okay.
Some things to consider: a number of other teachers have commented that they made the ornaments themselves in advance and just had the kiddos decorate them. Since you're looking to make handprints, that won't work. But it's something to consider if the logistics of making the dough right before using don't work out.
Another thing to keep in mind is the possibility that they won't all turn out perfectly. Some folks have issues with the dough puffing up and losing the imprints. We haven't be able to replicate this in our home ovens, but we do have some recommendations to help based on previous comments. Be sure to roll the dough to about 1/8 of an inch or a little more. If the dough is too thick or has air bubbles trapped in it, it's more likely to bubble and puff. Check out Cassie's tips in the post about leaving the ornaments on parchment and peeling away the scraps to make it easier to keep their shape. You might also want to consider having each student make two handprints just in case! Then allow them to air-dry and harden a bit before baking to help reduce the chances of puffing. Then finally, you could bake them longer at a lower temperature—we recommend 200°F. That should help ensure all the handprints are preserved!
Lastly, plan for this to be a multi-day project! If you're making handprints, they'll need to imprint them in class. Then they'll need to air-dry (which can take several days and lots of flipping to ensure they don't curl) or bake before being able to decorate them. So at least two class days or more if you plan to airdry. If you have any additional question, please let me know. I'm happy to help! But I hope all of this helps you have a successful classroom activity! I'd love to hear how it turns out for you! =)
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!
Any particular type of paint?
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! ; )
How long do these bake for? The recipe doesn’t say
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."
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.
First time making them and they puffed up. The kids are 2 & 3 so they don’t care and we still plan to decorate them! Did 300 for 1 hour.
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!
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! We’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!
Thanks so much for letting us know how it went for you! We appreciate you taking the time to tell us about your experience. =)
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!
Thanks so much, Mary Ann!
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.
Puffing occurs if you use self rising flour
Wish I’d read the comments before trying this project with these instructions. Ornaments puffed up and were unusable. Would not recommend.
We're so sorry this didn't turn out for you, Alison! We continue to test this recipe to try to replicate this issue in our own kitchens. Unfortunately, we've been unable to produce the same results. So we're still working on an adjustment!
In the meantime, we have this disclaimer in the how-to card so that folks don't need to scroll through the comments to find it: "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 200°F and leaving them in for longer."
Let them sit out for a few hours to a day so they dry out a bit, then bake. Fixes the puffing issue.
Also make sure you DON'T use self-rising flour!!!
Hi there!
Can I cut this recipe in half? I'm just wanting to make 6 handprint ornaments, so I don't think I'll be needing that much.
Hi Liz! Yup—that should be fine! =)
I agree on not using a higher temperature. My dough was even and not too thick and I went with this method without knowing that. My ornaments puffed up and there was no coming back. Unfortunately, I was making paw prints of my dog that I was going to have to say goodbye to the next day and could not repeat the project. I was devastated and wish I would have read the comments before trying this method.
Nikki, I'm so sorry to hear about your dog. I'm also very sorry about the issue you had with the ornaments. We're honestly not sure what could have happened. We make these nearly every year and haven't had this issue before, unless the dough was uneven or too thick, which can trap air bubbles in them and make them misshapen after baking. We're going to keep testing the recipe to try to duplicate this in our own kitchens, but in the meantime, we'll be adding a note to the recipe to let folks know that this has been happening and what they can do to help prevent it. We don't want anyone else to lose their precious prints or have trouble with their ornaments. Thank you so much for taking the time to let us know what's happening so we can continue to make our recipe better.
Is there any way that self rising flour could cause this issue. I’ve never used that type but maybe that’s something that happened 💔
300 degrees is WAY too high. Using a high temperature causes the ornaments to puff up and deform. It ruined my ornaments. I should have known better than to use such high heat. Normally I do set the temp at 200 and bake for 2hrs.
how long will the dough stay pliable if it isn't baked. I'd like to make some dough 4-5 days ahead.
Hi, Amy! We don't recommend making this dough ahead of time because it will start to dry out and harden. You need the dough to be smooth and pliable to get the best results and if left too long it will become nearly impossible to work with! Your best bet will be to mix it up right before rolling out and cutting into shapes. Then if you want to leave the cut shapes for a few days to harden without baking you can. You would just need to flip them frequently to prevent curling. Hope this helps!
Would appreciate tips on making hand prints. I pressed my 18 month old's hand firmly into the dough, and the prints disappeared during baking and one of them has a huge bubble covering half the dough circle. I also had lots of trouble rolling the dough, it didn't roll smoothly and the parchment just wanted to slide all over the table. Thanks!
Hi, Kimberly! I'm happy to help with a few more tips for getting those hand prints perfect!
It sounds like the trouble you had rolling the dough may have played a part in the bubbling and puffing. If the dough is too thick, too uneven, or if there are air bubbles trapped in there, you're likely to see some misshapen ornaments after baking. So first we need to figure out if the dough was too dry or tough, which caused the difficulty rolling - or - if the slippy parchment paper caused all the trouble!
If the dough was hard to handle before you put it between the parchment, then try adding a bit more water a tablespoon at a time until you get a nice smooth consistency - like modeling clay. Once you're happy with the dough, the next step is to keep your parchment paper in place!
One method you could try is to make your bottom sheet of parchment paper long enough to hang over the edge of the counter or table and press it into place with your body weight or clamps. Then you can roll it outward from the center of the dough and it should stay put. I like to turn my dough a quarter turn each time I roll it, though, so that doesn't work for me! What I like to do is get a very lightly damp dish towel (paper towel would work, too) and put the parchment on top of that. It should keep it from slipping all over the place and you can turn your paper to your hearts content! This works great for stabilizing cutting boards, too!
Now that everything should hopefully be staying put for you, try your best to roll the dough evenly. Start with your rolling pin in the center and work outward applying even pressure as best you can. I get the best results when I start in the center and roll away from me, which is why I turn the dough each time. But whatever method works best for you is great! We just recommend that whatever method you use, you start in the center each time and roll out towards the edges for the most consistent results.
Once your dough is rolled out to a little thicker than 1/8th of an inch, press those hand prints in and cut your preferred shape around them. (<---Cassie talks about this tip in the post!) Remove the scraps from around your ornament shapes (leaving the ornaments on the parchment) and transfer the parchment to a baking sheet and bake! I hope this helps!! Good luck!
What paint would you use to paint the decorations? If you add sequins as decoration do u have to use superglue?
Acrylic paints and puffy paints work great for decorating these ornaments! If you want to add sequins, glitter, decorative gems, or things like that, you can use regular school glue or Mod Podge to apply them. You don't have to use superglue unless you want to or it's something you already have on hand. We also recommend sealing the ornaments with spray poly or a thin coat of Mod Podge on both sides. This will help all of your decorations last for years! We hope this helps. Let us know how they turn out for you!
I just tried this recipe and it completely stuck to the parchment paper! Any idea what would cause this? It was quite a mess.
That's interesting! I've never had that problem before. I've never had anything stick to parchment before! Hmm, my only recommendation would be to try a silicone baking mat next time instead.
Are you sure you were using parchment paper and not wax paper? The wax paper will melt and things will stick to it.
Baking them at 300 degrees for an hour was a terrible idea. Mine puffed up, like cookies, and were squishy in the middle. I redid the recipe and made another batch and put them in the oven at 175 for an hour. They aren't quite dried out completely yet, but enough to where my kids could still paint them (the tops dried out but when I flipped them they were still tacky). I would suggest using a baking rack next time in a sheet pan, that way air can move around them.
We made these the other day after our dog was hit to have a paw print! We baked them but some were thicker then the others we thought they were done but now a couple days later some are still softish! Are the okay that way or what should we do?
I would recommend rebaking them or popping them in a dehydrator until they are very dry. I'm afraid soft dough will mold eventually.