Sunday, February 1, 2009

Salt Dough Ornaments



I just recently tried making these for the first time. It was so much fun to do with the kids I thought I would share. Its perfect for Valentines day but you could make them for any holiday!
Ingredients
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1-1/2 cups hot water
Several drops of paint or food color
(this makes a LOT. I halved the recipe)
Mix the salt and flour together, then gradually add the water until the dough becomes elastic. If your mixture is too sticky add more flour. If it is too crumbly add more water. If you want colored dough, mix food coloring, powdered drink mix, or paint into the water before adding it to the dry ingredients. I added a few drops of brown, green, and black paint to make them look like stones. Knead the dough making sure to get out all air pockets. As I kneaded I used a brush and sprinkled the paint on the dough. This produced a marbled effect.
You have to knead it a long time! It’s a great stress reliever. Next get out rolling pins, cups, bowls, straws, cookie cutters, plastic utensils, bamboo skewers, and stamps!
Flour your surface and rolling pin. Roll the dough out to about 1/8 inch to ½ inch. Cut out your shapes. Use a straw to poke a hole to tie ribbon. Next is the best part. Stamp a image onto your shape using a rubber stamp and ink. I used an old stamp pad.

Bake them at 200 degrees. Baking times will vary depending on the size and thickness of the object, but make sure that all of it is hard. If the dough starts to darken before cooking is complete, cover with aluminum foil.
After they have hardened and cooled completely you can also paint or glitter them. Painted ones will need to be sealed on all sides with clear varnish or polyurethane spray.
You can store your salt dough in a sealed container in the refrigerator, but not more than a few days.
Tie with pretty ribbon or lace. Add buttons, beads, rhinestones, or just about anything! We are giving a few as teacher gifts. Stamp your sweeties name and use as a gift tag.
This is an awesome project to do with kids. Just make sure they don’t eat the dough. Lol

21 comments:

Lori said...

Brandy, i will definitely be making these...how utterly adorable!!! these are a wonderful idea...thanks SO much for sharing!!!

Mumzie said...

Brandi,
Thanks, I have this recipe from back in the 1980's. We made lots and lots of Christmas decorations. So much fun. I'm going to get my recipe out and compare. I think, I might be making these. Thank sweet one! Mumzie

LiLi M. said...

Great idea! Once you are on the go you can easily make dozens I hope! I'm going to try this one, thanks for sharing!

Holly Campbell said...

Very sweet! I have made a salt-type dough Christmas ornaments, but never considered using this for other holidays. I will have to try this! Thank you!

Elyse said...

OMG! i have made salt dough in the past but never thought to make things so lovely with it.

this will be fun for both me and my boys!

the next ornament is AWESOME!

thanks for sharing.

Elyse said...

OMG! i have made salt dough in the past but never thought to make things so lovely with it.

this will be fun for both me and my boys!

the next ornament is AWESOME!

thanks for sharing.

Ellen said...

love this idea...soooo darling! I am going to have to try the pink dough style...love that with the glitter! Absolutely lovely..thank you for sharing!

Anonymous said...

These are great Brandi! Love them and I know my kids will love them too! Thanks for the wonderful tutorial.

Anonymous said...

THANK YOU. I neede a craft project for my nephews kindergarten class and I think this it. Thanks for sharing.....

xashee's corner said...

oh how FUN! you made BEAUTIFUL things! makes me want to try this FOR SURE!! Thank you so much for sharing! Hope you have a MARVELOUS Monday! :D

Unknown said...

how cool! I remember making these in Girl Scouts.

Heather Simpson-Bluhm said...

Very fun. I might have to try this with my kindergartners..

emma said...

These look so simple to make, thanks for the recipe. I would never have thought to use stamps on them! Love this blog.

Little Pink Studio said...

They turned out great!
Cerri xo

Jeanne said...

Brandy, this project brought back fond memories of when I made similar ornaments for Christmas with my daughter when she was little. I like your twist of making them for any occasion and using the rubber stamps.
xo
jeanne

Anonymous said...

Hi Brandy, I just did the same type of thing but I used this great new paper clay I found on etsy - you don't get to bake with the kids - but for time alone the paper clay is great. If you need more info let me know and I'll tell youthe exact soure

Penelope said...

Oh I forgot about salt dough! It's so much fun and you can make absolutely anything with it. These little hearts are gorgeous- I would never have thought of using stamps! Well done and thank you very much for the inspiration. :)

daysease said...

wow, i am loving this idea... so good for so many things... here in Italy, the salt dough is used a lot for making things. I have never done it myself, but it seems easy enough that I just might try it. Thank you so much for sharing. I found you from your comment on Mr. Lee's blog. :-) Happy Easter!

Celita
http://daysease.blogspot.com/

diving Boracay said...

so pretty..

Furniture removals said...

gorgeous..

The Rustic Victorian said...

They turned out so nice,,We made them back in the 70"s and they come back off and on,,still fun. I will tell you from experience..that if your going to store them at any time, make sure they are well sealed as the mice will get them and bugs too. It was not pretty, I will save you the details. I love the lace heart also.