Beautiful Salt Dough Ornaments

Written by Rachel Barkowski Published on August 27, 2024

Beautiful Salt Dough Ornaments

A Guide to Making Beautiful Salt Dough Ornaments

Salt dough ornaments are a beautiful, budget-friendly way to create lasting memories this holiday season! Whether you’re looking for a fun activity to do with kids or want to craft unique, personalized decorations, salt dough ornaments offer endless possibilities.

The process is simple, the ingredients are likely already in your pantry, and the results can be as varied and creative as your imagination allows.

In this post, I’ll guide you through the step-by-step process of making these charming ornaments, share some tips for success, and offer ideas for decorating them to suit any occasion.

(We love making homemade Christmas ornaments — check out our 10-Minute Star Ornaments or this collection of Easy Homemade Ornaments to Make with Your Kids!)

Why Salt Dough?

Before diving into the recipe, let’s talk about why salt dough is such a fantastic medium for crafting.

The mixture of flour, salt, and water creates a pliable dough that’s easy to shape, mold, and bake into solid, durable ornaments. The high salt content acts as a preservative, ensuring that your creations can last for years if stored properly.

Additionally, salt dough is non-toxic, making it a safe option for crafting with children. The best part? It’s incredibly versatile—you can make everything from simple shapes to intricate designs, and the ornaments can be painted, glittered, or left in their natural state.

The Basic Salt Dough Recipe

Here’s a foolproof recipe for making the dough:

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup salt
1 cup warm water

Instructions:

Mix the Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. Stir them together until they are well-blended. The salt not only adds texture to the dough but also helps it dry out thoroughly during baking.
Add Water: Slowly pour the warm water into the flour and salt mixture, stirring as you go. You can use a wooden spoon or your hands for this step. The dough will start to come together and form a ball. (HACK: add a tiny dot of purple food coloring to your dough – just a little on the tip of a toothpick – to counter the ‘yellow’ of the dough and get a more pure white.)
Knead the Dough: Once the mixture forms a dough, transfer it to a floured surface and knead it for about 5-10 minutes. This helps to ensure that the ingredients are fully combined and the dough is smooth and elastic. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour; if it’s too dry, add a tiny bit more water.
Roll Out the Dough: Once the dough is well-kneaded, roll it out to about 1/4-inch thickness using a rolling pin. If you want thicker ornaments, you can roll it out to 1/2-inch thickness, but keep in mind that thicker ornaments will take longer to bake.
Cut Out Shapes: Use cookie cutters to cut out your desired shapes. You can stick with classic holiday shapes like stars, trees, and snowflakes, or get creative with different designs. Don’t forget to use a straw or skewer to poke a hole at the top of each ornament so you can hang them later. If you’re using a cookie stamp, now is the time to do that!
Bake the Ornaments: Place the cut-out shapes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 225°F for 2-3 hours. The key is to bake them slowly at a low temperature to ensure they dry out completely without browning. An oven that’s too hot will cause your ornaments to slightly rise or bubble, so don’t turn the oven up to speed things up. The ornaments are done when they feel hard to the touch.
Cool and Decorate: Allow the ornaments to cool completely before decorating. Once cool, you can paint them with acrylic paints, add glitter, or even use markers to personalize them. I found that nail polish was a great option for detailing my ornaments!
Seal them with a clear varnish or a coat of Mod Podge to protect the surface and give them a nice finish.

A fun way to emboss your salt dough ornaments is with a personalized Christmas cookie stamp, like THESE. This is great for if you choose to tie an ornament onto a gift!

Tips for Success

While making salt dough ornaments is a straightforward process, here are a few tips to ensure your creations turn out perfectly every time:

Keeping the Dough Pliable: You’ll find that as you put flour down, roll, cut out, and re-roll your dough, that it starts to air dry – just put a little water on your hands and knead your dough for a minute until it’s like fresh playdough again! Do this as many times as needed.
Even Thickness: Roll out the dough to an even thickness to prevent some ornaments from being undercooked while others are overcooked. An even thickness also ensures that all the ornaments bake at the same rate.
Smooth Surface: If you want a smooth surface for decorating, be sure to knead the dough well and smooth out any cracks or creases before baking. A well-kneaded dough will also be easier to roll out.
Drying Time: If you don’t want to use an oven, or if you have thicker ornaments that need extra drying time, you can air-dry the ornaments. This process can take several days depending on the thickness of the dough and the humidity level in your home.
Storage: Store finished ornaments in a cool, dry place. If properly sealed and stored, salt dough ornaments can last for years.
Adding Color: If you prefer not to paint the ornaments, you can add color directly to the dough. Simply mix in food coloring during the kneading process to create a colored dough. (Wear gloves!)

How I added texture to my salt dough Christmas ornaments

Take a look around your kitchen to find things to add texture to your ornaments! If you don’t have a cookie stamp, get creative with what you do have! Here’s what I came up with. ⬇️

This strainer worked perfectly for making dots! I carefully pressed it on and then cut it out with a cookie cutter. I really love this texture!

How about this serving spatula design? How pretty is that on an ornament?! Again, I pressed the design on *before* cutting. It’s easier to line the cookie cutter up over a ready pattern.

Cooling racks give a nice criss-cross texture! ⬇️😆

The texture on this ornament was made with a cooling rack!

Here’s how I added ✨sparkle✨ to my ornaments: Dollar Tree glitter (the colors right now are gorgeous!) and Mod Podge – mix a little of both together and paint it on your baked, dried salt dough ornaments.

Glitter + Mod Podge or white glue is a quick way to add sparkle to your ornaments!

For the gold on the ornaments below, I brushed sparkly gold nail polish on! How easy is that?!

Gold nail polish adds a touch of sparkle to salt dough Christmas ornaments!

⬇️ :: PIN FOR LATER :: ⬇️

Decorating Ideas

Decorating your salt dough ornaments is where the fun really begins. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Classic Christmas Ornaments: Paint the ornaments in traditional holiday colors like red, green, gold, and silver. Add glitter for a touch of sparkle. Personalize them with names, dates, or holiday messages to create keepsakes that can be cherished for years.
Rustic Charm: For a rustic, farmhouse look, leave the ornaments unpainted or use muted, natural colors. Use twine or jute to hang them, and consider adding accents like small pinecones, cinnamon sticks, or dried orange slices.
Handprint Keepsakes: For a special touch, create handprint or footprint ornaments. These are especially popular for capturing the tiny hands and feet of babies and toddlers. Roll out the dough, press the hand or foot into the dough, and then cut around the imprint with a round cutter.
Personalized Gift Tags: Instead of traditional gift tags, make small salt dough ornaments and personalize them with the recipient’s name. Attach them to gifts for a unique and thoughtful touch.
Ornaments with Texture: Before baking, add texture to your ornaments by pressing lace, leaves, or textured fabrics into the dough. The impression will create a beautiful pattern that can be highlighted with a wash of paint after baking.
Essential Oil Diffusers: Add a few drops of essential oil to the dough before baking, or to the finished ornament. Hang these in your car, closet, or anywhere you want a pleasant scent. Cinnamon, pine, and peppermint are great choices for the holiday season.

Making It a Tradition

One of the best things about salt dough ornaments is that they’re more than just decorations—they’re memories in the making. Consider setting aside a day each year to create new ornaments, either by yourself or with family and friends. Over time, you’ll build a collection that tells a story, with each ornament representing a different year or stage in life. These ornaments make wonderful gifts, too—handmade, thoughtful, and personal.

Beautiful Salt Dough Ornaments

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose white flour (not self-rising)
1 cup table salt
1 cup warm water

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt.
Slowly pour the warm water into the flour and salt mixture, stirring as you go. You can use a wooden spoon or your hands for this step. The dough will start to come together and form a ball.
Once the mixture forms a dough, transfer it to a floured surface and knead it for about 5 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour; if it’s too dry, add a tiny bit more water.
Once the dough is well-kneaded, roll it out to about 1/4-inch thickness using a rolling pin. If you want thicker ornaments, you can roll it out to 1/2-inch thickness, but keep in mind that thicker ornaments will take longer to bake.
Use cookie cutters to cut out your desired shapes. Don’t forget to use a straw or skewer to poke a hole at the top of each ornament so you can hang them later. If you're using a cookie stamp, now is the time to do that!
Place the cut-out shapes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 225°F for 2-3 hours, until dry but not brown. The ornaments are done when they feel hard to the touch.
Allow the ornaments to cool completely before decorating. Once cool, you can paint them with acrylic paints, add glitter, or even use markers to personalize them. Seal them with a clear varnish or a coat of Mod Podge to protect the surface and give them a nice finish.

Notes

Even Thickness: Roll out the dough to an even thickness to prevent some ornaments from being undercooked while others are overcooked. An even thickness also ensures that all the ornaments bake at the same rate.

Smooth Surface: If you want a smooth surface for decorating, be sure to knead the dough well and smooth out any cracks or creases before baking. A well-kneaded dough will also be easier to roll out.

Drying Time: If you don’t want to use an oven, or if you have thicker ornaments that need extra drying time, you can air-dry the ornaments. This process can take several days depending on the thickness of the dough and the humidity level in your home.

Storage: Store finished ornaments in a cool, dry place. If properly sealed and stored, salt dough ornaments can last for years.

Adding Color: If you prefer not to paint the ornaments, you can add color directly to the dough. Simply mix in food coloring or acrylic paint during the kneading process to create a colored dough.

Salt dough ornaments are a timeless, simple craft that anyone can enjoy. They’re easy to make, highly customizable, and perfect for creating lasting holiday memories. Whether you’re crafting with kids, creating personalized gifts, or simply enjoying a quiet afternoon of creativity, these ornaments are sure to bring joy to your home. So gather your ingredients, roll up your sleeves, and start crafting your own set of salt dough ornaments today. Happy crafting!

Another family-favorite Christmas ornament that we make every year are these Molass e s Cookie Ornaments that my grandma used to always have on her tree! It’s a nostalgic (& yummy) tradition!