How To Make Colored Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments With Kids
Learn how to make these festive dyed ornaments in minutes with our easy tutorial. The whole family will love swirling colors together to create dyed salt-dough ornaments and gift tags!
We love creating easy Christmas crafts with our family, from cinnamon salt dough ornaments to recyclable DIY Christmas crayons.
Why You Will Love This Christmas Craft
Supplies you’ll need
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Notes About Supplies
- COOKIE CUTTERS – Buy a variety pack of holiday cookie cutters to create fun shapes.
- STAMPS – We love using these plastic stamps for names, dates, and other messages.
- CLEAR COAT – You can add a transparent layer, such as Sparkle Mod Podge, Krylon Clear Coat or acrylic craft paint, for extra details.
ART TEACHER (& MOM) TIP: Split the salt dough into smaller portions to mix the colors in different ways.
How To Make Dyed Salt Dough Ornaments
BEFORE YOU BEGIN – Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. This recipe will make about 25-30 small cinnamon ornaments, depending on the size of your cookie cutters.
Step 1: Make Salt Dough
Add salt and flour to a large bowl and carefully mix a 1/2 cup of warm water. You can use a stand mixer or mix by head. Knead until you can make a ball of dough.
Step 2: Add Food Coloring
We added blue and green gel food coloring and mixed together to get a marbled look.
Step 3: Roll Dough
Roll dough to about 1/4″ thick.
Step 4: Cut Shapes
Use cookie cutters to cut shapes. Don’t forget to poke a hole at the top or the ornament.
Step 5: Add Extra Details
Use stamps, extra dough or wooden skewer to draw extra details on your ornament.
Step 6: Bake or Let Air Dry
Place your ornaments upside down on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 200 degrees F for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours. Baking time may vary, so check periodically.
If letting air dry, it may take up to a week for all the moisture to dissappear.
Step 7: Let Cool and Decorate
Add craft paint, finger prints or clear coats for finishing touches. Once they are completely dry, add ribbon or twine for hanging.
Tips
- SHAPES – Using cookie cutters is the easiest way to get fun shapes. We also like to add extra details and stamp letters or dates on our salt dough ornaments.
- MIX IN A BAG – If you want to keep your hands cleaner, mix the dyed salt dough in a bag.
- HANGING – Don’t forget to poke a hole for ribbon or twine to hang. Use a straw or wooden skewer and make the hole a little larger than you would like, as it will shrink once it is baked.
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Ornament FAQs
Your salt dough ornaments were heated too quickly. Cooking on low heat for longer will help prevent that.
Salt dough ornaments will last for a very long time if stored in a dry, air-tight container.
Yes, you do not have to bake these ornaments. You can let them dry for about a week.
Our Favorite
Related Christmas Ideas
Not only are dyed salt dough ornaments fun to make, but they are also a budget-friendly Christmas craft idea your kids will love making. We can’t wait to add our new colorful ornaments to our tree this year.
Do you like this art project? Please give us a 5-STAR review below ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and have fun being creative with your family.
How To Make Dyed Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments
Equipment
- Rolling Pin or Bottle
- Parchment Paper
- Bowl
- Spoon
- Christmas Cookie Cutters
Supplies
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 Cup Table Salt
- 2-3 Colors Food Coloring
- 1/2 Cup Warm Water
- Ribbon or Twine
- Paint optional
- Clear Coat of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200 ℉
- Mix dry ingredients into a large bowl.
- Carefully pour in 1/2 cup of warm water
- Mix and knead together.
- Add small drops of food coloring to your dough. Use the back of a spoon to push the coloring into the mixture. Mix until you are happy with the colors.
- Roll the dough to about 1/4" thick.
- Use a cookie cutter to gently press into the dough. Remove the excess around the cut-out shape.
- Make a hole in the top of your ornament by using a straw or wooden skewer.
- Place ornaments flipped over on your cookie sheet. Bake for 1 and 1/2 hours to 2 hours.
- Optional: Paint extra designs, add a clear coat and ribbon or twine for hanging.
Notes
- If you don’t want to bake yours, you can let them dry for 3-7 days before painting.
- If you want to keep your hands clean, mix the dough and food coloring in a bag.
- You can mix until you get solid colors or use different colors for a marble effect.
- To ensure your ornaments last, you can also reduce the oven temperature and increase the baking time. Either way, don’t paint or seal until you are 100% sure all the moisture is removed.