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