November 25, 2019

Salt Dough Ornaments

 

Here’s what you need to know- a good DIY makes me happy. I feel my soul come alive when I’m crafting and creating.

I have made several DIYs this month. One of them being salt dough ornaments, which I made this weekend.

I saw these on Pinterest and thought they would be a neat thing to try. I love how they harken back to simpler times and add some whimsy to your decor. They smell good too!

You can make these with several different shapes. A heart for Valentines’ Day or a shamrock for St Patrick’s Day would be really cute! I knew I wanted to make a star. I have always loved stars.

I searched high and low for the perfect size star ornament (the shape I wanted to use). Ok I just searched Michael’s and Hobby Lobby but still 🤷🏼‍♀️. I found a set at Walmart that had a tree, stocking, gingerbread man, star and a snowflake for around $2. I ended up using them to make the perfect size gingerbread man cookies. I will do a separate post for those.

The recipe:

2 cups flour
1 cup salt–  I know it’s a lot but it’s not called ‘Salt Dough Ornaments’ for nothing!
1 cup water– I needed more
2 tsp ground clove– word to the wise- don’t use your personal size blender shaker cups on grinding whole cloves.
2 tsp ginger
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
10 drops orange essential oil– this is optional but it makes it smell so good with the spices

 

Directions:

  1. Mix the flour, salt, spices and essential oil together
  2. Slowly add water. You don’t want it sticky. It should feel like the consistency of play dough but it will still feel rough because of the spices.
  3. Roll out to a decent thickness that they won’t be real fragile. Use cookie cutters and cut shapes out. Place on cookie sheet. Place holes in center of each if hanging. I used a bamboo skewer but be sure to really work it through on both sides. I ran it through again on the other side before the second baking.
  4. Bake at 170 degrees on one side for an hour. Flip and bake for another hour. This might not be enough for them to full bake and dry so I laid them out overnight on a piece of parchment paper.

 

 

I hung mine using bakers twine. As I strung on each one I made sure to tie a knot on each side of the star to prevent movement once hung. I plan to use them on as a nice addition to top gifts this Christmas. They would be great as garlands on a mantle or a tree.

 

 

Have you made salt dough ornaments before? What shapes have you used?

I love and appreciate comments, so leave me one down below.

Happy Thanksgiving!