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Painted Salt Dough Ornaments

Salt dough ornaments are a holiday classic, right up there with cinnamon applesauce ornaments. This year I wanted to give them a bit of an upgrade with sparkly glitter paint.

salt dough star ornament painted with green galaxy glitter paint from Decoart

Normally I’m 100% anti-glitter but I’m opening my arms to it this time because the glitter is trapped in the paint. It can’t get all over every (unlike the tiny blue glitter Mary’s Elsa dress has been shedding for the last month).

This post is sponsored by DecoArt, they provided the paint I used to make these ornaments.


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Salt dough is one of these really simple things that I struggle with but unlike my issues with knitting (my left hand works at half the speed of my right) I’m not sure why.

I think it’s a bit like baking bread where the moisture in the air can effect things, especially if you’re trying to let them air dry. I went with the oven method because I’m impatient.

You only need three ingredients; flour, salt and water. I used cheap flour that I found in the pantry instead of my fancy white wheat flour that I use for baking. No one is (or at least no one should be) eating these ornaments.

There is one very special step YOU CAN’T SKIP or you’ll end up with a pile of gross looking ornaments (ask me how I know). You need to spray the baked and cooled ornaments down with a clear sealer coat before you add the glitter.

The regular paint doesn’t seem to effect the salt dough the glitter paint does not play nicely with it. It looks perfect until it dries and then it gets cloudy and not glittery, trust me it’s nothing you want on your Christmas tree.

It also helps to be gentle with the paint brush, I had a few areas where the salt dough started to flake up when I went over it too many times with the paint.

You can use any cookie cutters, I had a star that started out strong and then met it’s maker in the hands of my 3 year old. I tried my best to fix it but that’s why my stars are all a bit off.

salt dough ornaments painted with glitter nd hand written names

For my star ornaments I painted the edges with the solid colors and did several coats of glitter on the front. I also used a scalloped circle cutter and painted the front with the solid colors and them topped them with the glitter paint. When the paint was dry I added out names and the year with a Sharpie.

Yield: 2 dozen+ Ornaments

Painted Salt Dough Ornaments

Painted Salt Dough Ornaments

Turn plain salt dough into sparkly Christmas ornaments with glittery paint that won't shed all over your home

Working  Time 20 minutes
Baking Time 3 hours
Painting Time 1 hour
Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes
Estimated Cost $10

Materials

  • 2 cups white flour
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 3/4 cup warm water
  • Krylon Matte Clear Coat Spray
  • DecoArt Acrylic Paint in Santa Red, Kelly Green, Navy and White
  • DecoArt Galaxy Glitter Paint in Red Nebula, Extra Terrestrial Green, Deep Space Blue and Silver Moon
  • Thin Ribbon

Tools

  • Stand Mixer with Dough Hook (optional)
  • Rolling Pin
  • Parchment Paper
  • Silicone mat (optional)
  • Chopstick
  • Cookie Cutters
  • Cookie Sheet
  • Paint Brushes

Instructions

  1. Combine flour, salt and water in the bowl of the mixer and stir with the dough hook until it's a solid lump
  2. Knead by hand until the dough is smooth
  3. Place half the dough on a sheet of parchment paper and roll out with the rolling pin until it's roughly a quarter inch thick
  4. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters and add a hole at the top with a chopstick
  5. Transfer to the cookie sheet, I baked mine on a silicone mat but you can also bake them on the parchment paper or directly on the cookie sheet
  6. Bake for 2-3 hours at 200 degrees or until solid and no longer damp
  7. Paint the front or the sides of the ornaments with the solid colors and let dry completely
  8. Generously spray with clear coat (DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!)
  9. Add 1-3 coats of coordinating glitter paint, letting each coat dry before adding the next
  10. String a ribbon through the hole or use and ornament hook to hang them on the tree

Notes

You can skip the mixer and make the dough by hand. Start stirring with a spoon and when it gets to hard get in there with your hands

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DecoArt  winner will receive a prize package valued at $100!

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