Make your dough using 1 c flour, 1/2 c salt, and about 1/2 c of warm water. (I usually double this.) Combine the flour and salt and then slowlly add in enough water to form the dough. If you are wanting to make hand prints out of your salt dough – you will add more water because you need a looser dough. You want to be able to easily press your hand into the dough so make sure it is nice and soft. (You can also add food color to the dough if you want it all the same color.) Knead the dough for 10 minutes and then let rest for another 40 minutes.
If are making ornaments be sure to poke a hole where you will be hanging the ornament from. Make sure it goes all the way through and that any extra dough is removed. Place the ornaments on a parchment-lined baking tray and bake for 4-6 hours (or until hard) at 200 degrees. You can also air dry but plan on several extra days for that.
Once the ornaments are hard and dry it’s time to decorate! Paints, glue, glitter, ribbon – you name it! I just let the kids go crazy and do whatever they want (plus I had lots of extras!) Let the paint and glue dry.
I used a polyurethane spray on the ornaments to seal them so that they will keep beautifully but this step is optional. Hang up your fabulous creations with a pretty ribbon and enjoy! I just love this project because it’s super affordable and you can make it using whatever you have on hand. There’s no need to run out and buy a whole bunch of supplies. Here are some of our creations…
Lyndee says
How do you get your glitter to stick on the handprints? Do you spray/brush? This is the cutest idea ever…def going to be a new Christmas eve tradition for us!
Adorable blog 😉
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I dilute glue with a little water so the kids can “paint” it on. Sprinkle the glitter on top and let dry. I also like to spray a coat of polyurethane on top so I don’t have any glitter flaking off. Thank you for stopping by Lyndee! Merry Christmas!