No bake salt dough ornaments fit the bill with little skill
Are you looking for a way to make homemade salt dough ornaments that are easy enough for kids to do? That’s how I rate all of my DIY projects. If a kid can do it, I probably can. I was thrilled when I stumbled upon a NO BAKE salt dough ornament recipe. You can use this same recipe for any number of salt dough creations.
Have you made sugar cookies and they look so pretty going into the oven? And then when you open up the oven door the shape has completely changed? Your Christmas tree no longer has sharp edges, all the edges are round. I have tried multiple sugar cookie recipes, but they all change shape in the oven.
These no-bake salt dough ornaments aren’t for eating but they ARE quick and easy to make. This is a fun project for kids, they love making christmas crafts and these salt dough ornaments are a great way to get the whole family involved. Salt dough crafts can last for years if you follow these tips. They also make great gifts or gift tags, that you can personalize.
What You Need to Make Salt Dough
This is an easy salt dough recipe. You only need two simple ingredients to make salt dough, flour and salt. For each batch of salt dough you use two parts flour (2 cups flour) and one part salt (1 cup salt). In a large bowl, I started with 1 cup of flour. Then add water until it gets to be a dough consistency (think play dough). That’s it!
I’m not going to give you a long story about how to make it, but I’ll show you a few photos and then we can move on to the fun part, making the ornaments. If the dough is too wet, add flour. If it’s too dry, add water.
roll dough with a rolling pin.
Once your dough is the right consistency, knead it until it’s smooth. Roll the dough on a work surface that is lightly floured. Next you can choose your favorite cookie cutters and start to cut shapes.
These cookies air dry in about three days, but for best results during the drying process, flip them every day, so they dry evenly. Be sure the surface you dry salt dough ornaments on is smooth, like a baking sheet or cookie sheet, and covered in parchment paper. If you put the ornaments on a plate with a pattern, they take on the pattern.
Be sure to cut a small hole in the top of each ornament so it can be hung later with ornament hooks. Use a straw to cut a clean hole.
Tips For Success With Salt Dough Ornaments
Here are a few tips that will help your salt dough ornaments turn out perfectly on the first try.
- Don’t roll them out until your dough is stiff enough. If you set the dough ball onto a surface and you can’t pick it back up without it sticking, it’s too wet. Go back to the bowl and add more flour.
- Flour the rolling surface – The dough is much easier to work with if you lightly flour the the surface that you’re rolling it out on.
- Flour the cutter – I like to dip my cookie cutter in flour before I cut the cookie.
- Flour the Spatula/Pastry Scraper – When you are ready to transfer the cookies to a tray to dry, dip the tip of the spatula in flour.
You might be sensing a trend with my tips. USE FLOUR in every step. It keeps you from ripping the cookies and makes them come out nice and clean.
Can You Eat Salt Dough?
No, you can’t. They are 50% salt! That’s why they can last for such a long time, the salt preserves them.
I’m not quite ready for Christmas, so I tried out some fall leaves.
Try making your own salt dough ornaments. With this easy recipe they are fail-proof and something you can re-use every year.
Before you go, take a look at how to make salt dough ornaments you can reuse every year and how to make a Magnolia garland you can reuse.
I wish I had found this before Christmas but I will be definitely making these for Valentine’s Day and all the rest of the upcoming holidays for the next year. Thanks for sharing this with me.
Marry Christmas and happy new years.
Remarkable 🌷