Homemade Salt Dough Ornaments

Here’s Everything You’ll Need 

In addition to a few key ingredients for making the dough, you’ll also need some additional materials for shaping and decorating your homemade ornaments. Detailed measurements have been provided in the instruction card at the very end of this blog post. 

For the salt dough: 

• All-purpose flour — Regular white flour helps the ornaments hold their shape. 
• Salt — Use regular table salt. No need to buy anything fancy! 
• Water — Straight from the tap is just fine. 
• Food Coloring or Acrylic Chalk Craft Paint — You may also keep them naturally colored (i.e. white). 

For rolling and shaping the dough: 

• Rolling Pin — To roll the salt dough out with.
• Cookie Cutters — To cut shapes for your salt dough Christmas ornaments.
• Baking Sheet Lined with Parchment Paper — To bake the ornaments on.
• Drinking Straw — This helps cut the hole for threading ribbon or twine to string the ornament
• Twine or Ribbon — To hang your handmade ornaments.

💡Tips for Keeping Your Work Surface Clean

Cover your work surface with parchment paper or a plastic table cloth. Something inexpensive that you don’t care about getting stained or that you can just throw away (the Dollar Store is great for this!) Butcher paper works great, too! 

I also suggest wearing gloves and aprons. This will help make sure that clothes and fingers aren’t dyed red and green when you’re making your ornaments.

Katie’s Tip: Protecting your work surface is especially important if you’re working with acrylic chalk paint, which can permanently stain countertops. 

How to Make Salt Dough Ornaments

The number of ornaments you will get from this salt dough recipe varies based on the size of the ornament, however this recipe made approximately 18 three inch sized circles in my most recent batch. 

1. Whisk together the salt and flour. 
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the water and food coloring (or paint). 
3. Make a well in the flour mixture and slowly pour in the colored water, mixing after you’ve added half of the liquid. 
4. Knead the dough for 10 minutes on top of parchment paper, or until it’s smooth and colored throughout. 
5. Roll out the salt dough, then cut it out using your cookie cutters of choice. 
6. Place the dough cut-outs on a parchment paper-lined baking tray, then cut a hole near the top with a drinking straw. 
7. Bake at 200ºF for an hour, or until dry (varies on size and thickness of ornament).

Personalizing Your Ornaments with Paint, Glitter, & More

You can paint your ornaments, sprinkle them with glitter, personalize them with names and dates, or use household objects to add texture. You can even scent the dough! Here’s how:

To paint them: 

Let them dry completely, then use acrylic craft paint to decorate. You can use small paint brushes to add details to your ornament, which works especially well if your ornament has three dimensional texture to it.

To add glitter (3 options): 

• Add flakes of glitter directly to the salt dough. Add the glitter 1 tablespoon at a time until you like the ratio of glitter to dough.
• Add acrylic chalk paint that contains glitter or shimmer to your water, and then mix that into the flour and salt when you prepare your dough. 
• Paint clear craft glue onto the parts of your fully dry ornament that you want to have glitter and sprinkle loose glitter flakes on top of the glue. 

To personalize them for gifting: 

• Use mini ABC cookie cutters to stamp the middle with the recipient’s last name initial, monogram, or first name.
• Stamp the ornament with that year’s date, or a date of special significance.
• Lightly stamp a design within the cookie cutter using another, smaller cookie cutter.
• Hang two ornaments together on the same string, for example two shapes that have significance for the person you’re giving them to.

Katie’s Tip: Pick just 1 personalization idea from the list above, or combine a few. You can make your salt dough Christmas ornaments as simple or elaborate as you want! 

To Add texture: 

You can add interesting textures or patterns to the surface of your salt dough ornaments by pressing different types of materials or tools into the surface of the dough before baking. 

Ideas include: lace, cookie stamps, leaves, rosemary sprigs, pinecones, pine needles, rubber crafting stamps, ribbon, or bottoms of crystal vases.

Katie’s Tip: Press the dough firmly with these items to leave an imprint in the dough but DON’T press all the way through. You just want to create a texture on the surface that will remain after baking.

To create scented ornaments: 

Adding essential oils to your salt dough will give it a great scent that you can enjoy in your home! 

• Christmas tree scent: Add 5-15 drops of fir essential oil. I like Siberian fir best!
• Cinnamon scent: Add 5 to 15 drops of cinnamon essential oil. 
• Christmas cheer scent: Blend together 5 to 15 drops total of cinnamon, orange, and clove essential oils. 

Katie’s Tip: Wear gloves when handling the dough as some people are sensitive to essential oils on their skin. For best results, air dry any salt dough ornaments that you’ve added essential oils to so that the scent remains longer. Air drying takes 3 to 5 days; omit the cooking spray. 

Common Issues and How to Solve Them

Got questions about how to make this recipe? Here are the answers to a few commonly asked questions. Feel free to leave any other questions in the comments on this post and I’ll respond with answers.

My Salt Dough Is Too Sticky

Simply add extra flour and salt in a 4:1 ratio (such as 4 tablespoons flour and 1 tablespoon salt) until the dough is easily handled. It should be firm but not dry.

My Salt Dough Puffed Up

One possibility is that your oven is too hot. This recipe calls for a 200ºF oven. 

If you find that your salt dough ornaments are still turning out puffy, then try an even lower temperature. Your ornaments will take longer to bake and dry out at the lower temperature, but they should still turn out just fine. 

The second possibility is that you used self-rising flour. Always use all-purpose flour since it contains no leavening agents (baking soda, baking powder, etc). 

Salt Dough Make-Ahead Instructions 

You can make the salt dough up to 5 days in advance. Here’s how: 

• Prepare the salt dough as instructed. 
• Refrigerate in an air-tight container, Ziplock bag, or vacuum sealed bag. (This prevents it from drying out!)
• Roll and cut out as instructed when ready to bake. 

Katie’s Tip: This works best when left naturally colored or colored with food coloring. I don’t recommend making salt dough ahead of time if adding acrylic chalk paint as the paint could dry out or degrade when stored for a length of time in the refrigerator. 

Storage Instructions 

The most important tip for long-lasting Christmas salt dough ornaments is to make sure that you let them dry out all the way — and that you don’t let them get damp. If they dampen, they can mold (and then you have to throw them away). 

I recommend using air tight plastic ornament bins rather than cardboard boxes, which can get wet and damp due to humidity or leaks in your home. You can even add silica packets to your ornament storage to help mitigate any dampness that does occur.