I’ve been making salt dough ornaments for years; ever since my boys were in grade school. We’ve created so many wonderful keepsakes over the years. I have to confess, my very favorite Christmas tree ornaments are the one’s created by my boys. Their creations always make it onto the tree, front and center. They are the ornaments that always bring a smile to my face because they made them with their own little hands.
Salt dough is the perfect inexpensive medium for making these adorable Gingerbread men ornaments. They look great with a rustic themed Christmas, they add a fun traditional Christmas vibe, and the colors can easily be customized to work with just about any Christmas theme.
Today I’m sharing an easy salt dough Gingerbread man ornament project that you can make for just pennies. Plus it’s an easy project that you can do with your kids. You will create a great Christmas memory making them together, and every year when you hang them on the tree you will remember the fun you had making them with your kids. Similar ornaments would cost you anywhere from $4 – $5 for each one, but you can make several dozen for the cost of just one or two ornaments at the store.
Supplies you will need for this project:
- 1 cup salt
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups flour
- Rolling pin
- Gingerbread man shaped cookie cutter
- Straw
- Drying rack
- Brown acrylic paint
- Small paint brushes
- Fabric puff paints in black, white, red and green
- Mod Podge
- Twine
In a large bowl, mix together salt, flour and water until you have a smooth dough to work with. Using my KitchenAid mixer with the paddle attachment made this part a breeze.
Once you have a nice smooth dough, flour a smooth work surface and roll out the dough to about ¼ –1/8 inch thickness using a rolling pin. I left my dough on the thicker side, I just think they look more substantial and not as flimsy, but keep in mind that if you are planning on hanging these on a real tree, the thicker ornaments will be heavier and may weigh down the branches.
Once you have cut out the shapes with your cookie cutter take a straw and use it to create a small hole near the top (this is where you will loop the twine to hang your ornament). Instead of pushing the straw straight into the dough, I found twisting the straw back and forth as I pushed into the dough gave me a nice clean hole.
Once I had cutout my shapes I didn’t care for the raw looking edges, so I dipped my finger in a little water and smoothed out the edges. Once you are happy with how they look, lay them out carefully on a drying rack and forget about them for a few days, until they are completely dry.
If you decide to bake your ornaments, lay them out on a cookie sheet lined with foil and bake at 200 F until the dough is dry. The amount of time needed to bake the dough depends on the size and thickness; thin flat items may only need 45-60 minutes, but thicker items can take 2-3 hours or longer.
You can also increase the oven temperature to 350 F; your dough will dry faster but it may also turn brown, which for this project doesn’t really matter since we are painting our creation. Just be sure to allow the dough to cool completely before painting if you opt to go with the oven drying method.
Paint each ornament with a base coat of brown acrylic paint; being sure to cover the back and sides. Do a second coat if needed to get a nice even base coat of color.
Using the puff paint, add the eyes, mouth, bow, buttons and any embellishments you like.
On a few cutouts, I placed 2 holes, a little above center, on either side, in the arms. I used these to adorn gift packages. They were a super cute way to decorate gifts instead of using a traditional bow. I plan on making more of these!
it easy to use them as an embellishment on gifts.
Once paint has dried, coat each piece with Mod Podge, making sure to get the sides and back as well. Allow to dry completely.
Tip: Use a Sharpie marker and write the name of your child, and the date on the back of the ornaments they make before sealing with the Mod Podge.
Loop a length of twine through the hole at the top and hang your adorable Gingerbread man ornaments on your tree!
Salt Dough
Ingredients
- 1 cup salt
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients together until a smooth soft dough forms.
- Dough can be mixed together by hand or by using a mixer with a paddle attachment.
- Use dough for ornaments or other craft projects.
- Dry overnight on a rack, or bake on low heat at 200°F until dough is completely dry. Check after 30 minutes for dryness.
- Allow dough to cool to room temperature before painting or decorating.
- Dry time will vary depending on the thickness of the dough.
Use your imagination to create stars, reindeer, candy canes. You are only limited by your supply of cookie cutter shapes, LOL. I hope you have fun with this easy project and I would love to see what you and your kids create together!
Merry Christmas!
Did You Make These?
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For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:16
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