DIY Projects
DIY project: Salt dough ornaments
Make these festive ornaments for your tree! Image by: Joe Kim
DIY Projects
DIY project: Salt dough ornaments
Learn to create and decorate your own holiday ornaments with this easy-to-follow salt dough recipe.
Start your countdown to Christmas with a classic holiday craft: salt dough ornaments. Present them in a fresh new way with a dash of glitter, a splash of marker and, for old times’ sake, a pinch of puffy paint.
Salt dough recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup table salt
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Directions
1 In a small bowl, mix together the salt and water. Add the flour and mix well to combine.
2 Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Form the dough into a ball and knead for 5 minutes.
3 Roll out the dough to a ¼" thickness and cut out shapes with cookie cutters.
4 Use a skewer to poke holes at the tops of the ornaments for string.
5 Place the ornaments on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake at
200°F for 5 to 6 hours. Transfer onto a wire rack and allow to dry overnight.
Tip: To dye the dough, add food colouring, coffee or tea to the water.
Makes about 2 dozen
Technique: Puffy paint
Bright colours and a raised effect are two of the main characteristics of puffy paint, so this is your ticket if you want to add simple decorative and personal finishes to ornaments with little difficulty. And don’t worry if your lines aren’t straight – that’s the nature of puffy paint.
Technique: Glue & glitter
For a look with a bit more sparkle, simply apply dabs of white craft glue (a toothpick works perfectly for finer details) to the ornament and pour glitter overtop; gently shake off the excess. If you plan to use multiple colours of glitter, allow one to dry completely before applying the next.
Technique: Rubber stamp
Understated touches are just as effective. Before baking the ornaments, press rubber stamps into the dough with holiday greetings, the year or even the names of loved ones.
Technique: Fine marker
If you like to pay attention to every little detail, a fine-point marker is the perfect tool for the job (we like to use Sharpie Fine Point Permanent Markers). You can either draw freehand or lightly sketch directly on the ornament with a pencil and trace it over with marker. Try fun colour combinations, including white on dough that’s been dyed.
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