Salt Dough Ornaments

Tis the season, fa la la.  Time for the funs and joys of holiday crafts.  If you would like a fun family craft or are a new household making salt dough ornaments is and easy way to craft decorations for the tree that are personal and best of all inexpensive.  All you need are some salt, flour, and cookie cutters, and of course and oven.  Salt dough ornaments can be as simple or complicated as you would like.  To make the dough first:

•             1 cup salt

•             4 cups of flour
•             1 1/2 cup of water (add gradually)

Combine the salt and flour then pour in the water gradually, stopping when it has become dough-like and not too sticky. There should be no residue left on your fingers when you touch it. Knead it on a floured surface for a few minutes to make it soft, workable and stretchy, like you would with any dough. This step is wonderful for strengthening those small hand muscles essential for writing and cutting!

Lay them on some greaseproof or baking paper and on a baking tray. Cook them on a VERY low heat (around 225 F) for 3-4 hours. Keep an eye on them and watch for scorching.  If the shapes are over 1cm thick then they will probably need to be turned over during cooking.

 Tips for decorating

•             Cut hole for string before cooking – use a straw, toothpick, or dowel.  Depending on how big you want the hole.

•             Since it is dough you can make small embellishments to decorate.
•             Use stamps to add a personal touch, rub ink in the stamped part to bring out the color.
•             Use stamps to add a personal touch
•             Use scrap booking skill for extras, nifty ribbons and charms

Now the fun part of these ornaments as they are good for any holiday or religion.  I made some Hanukkah ornaments for a friend using Hanukkah cookie cutters.  This is a nice weekend project and you can create some beautiful personal gifts for friends and family.  So have fun.