How to Make Salt Dough Keepsakes

If you know anything about me, you know that I love traditions. We make these every year, and give them as gifts, tie them to presents, and hang them from our tree. 

Ingredients: 

1 cup of salt

2 cups of flour

1 cup of room temperature water

Mix ingredients together in a large bowl. Add more water or flour (1 teaspoon at a time) if needed. 

These are best rolled out onto wax paper to about ½” to ⅓” thickness. Cut out whatever shape you prefer- we use our christmas cookie cutters, but you could also use a glass to make classic circles. Cut a hole in the top with a straw. Let dry and decorate with paint, or use food coloring mixed into the dough. 

Winter Solstice Spice:

Our favorite thing to do with salt dough is to decorate them with winter spices like cinnamon, star anise, and cloves. Sometimes I mix in cinnamon because it makes the house smell incredible. We like to also use pasta and various beans and seed pods (we get ours at India Sweets and Spices).

Once we’re finished decorating them, we bake them at 200 degrees fahrenheit for 1-2 hours (checking often- timing depends on thickness!) When they’re cool we seal them by covering with 1-2 coats of Mod Podge (this step takes a couple of days to get both sides, but it’s worth it because if properly sealed these ornaments will last for years!)