I know salt dough ornaments are pretty common at this time of the year but i thought it might be nice to share ours with you anyway...mainly because it really is such a simple activity that offers so many opportunities for family fun and tradition!
I used to make these every year with Miss Teen and when i pulled a few out of the box this year it reminded me that the toddler twosome were now old enough to also participate in this fun family tradition!
It really is a simple process....salt dough is a very easy recipe and i'm sure you will find many recipes across the net if you search but this year i tried something a little different...i used THIS recipe from At Home with Ali although i was having a particularly ...shall we say 'fraught' day after a week of vomiting viruses in the house so i skipped all the cooking steps and just mixed the lot together...ooops. But it worked a treat!
I also found a great post from Rainy Day Mum about cooking the ornaments in the microwave instead of the oven. Normally with salt dough you would need to cook the salt dough for 3-4 hrs in a slow oven to really dry them out and harden enough to paint. This means you can't usually complete the activity in one day....microwaving the ornaments really worked so well and we were able to make and paint our ornaments all in one day!
I simply did a few batches at a time by spreading onto a large plate and then microwaving for around 3 minutes...it did vary depending on the number of ornaments and thickness of the plate i was using but if you check them at regular intervals you can't really go wrong!
So after mixing together the salt dough ingredients...the toddler twosome and Miss Teen had great fun cutting out some Christmas shapes and i then microwaved them. You will need to use a straw or craft stick to poke a hole in the top if you want to hang them afterwards.
After nap time on a particularly hot afternoon we headed outside to the shade and began to decorate our ornaments!
I used some green and red CORNFLOUR PAINT and put out a few little dishes of Christmas sparkles and some glitter shakers...all 3 girls had so much fun with this!
There was a whole lot of glitter love going on which i figured there would be with toddlers so i set up outside (I'm not silly!) But the beauty of these salt dough ornaments is that each child is free to decorate in any way that they want to...they may not be perfection but they were so very special to me and will remind me of this Christmas for many years to come!
Ruby had lots of fine motor practice with her glitter shaker....if we hadn't been outside i might have been a little stressed! I was really pleased with how white and hard the dough turned out considering i used a new recipe and method of cooking! I think these will be around to hang on the tree for many years to come!
Another good thing about doing them outside was that there was plenty of opportunity to go and have a little run around and then come back to the creativity!
I tied a little gold string through the ornaments and they were ready to hang...needless to say all 3 girls were very excited by this prospect...and obviously proud of their achievements! We did quite a big batch so i have kept some for adding to family members Christmas presents...the rest have found a spot on the tree!
This activity is so toddler friendly....it's easy for them to do themselves yet individual in the creativity and offers a wonderful opportunity for self expression and a sense of achievment and pride...not to mention the practice of fine motor skills!
Looking for more salt dough inspiration? I think you'll find these links helpful.....
Have you ever made some salt dough ornaments or do you share another Christmas craft tradition each year?...I'd love to hear about it!
If this is your first visit to
Mummy Musings and Mayhem and you like what
you see you can follow us on Facebook
and Pinterest
for more inspiration, fun and mayhem!
Warm Wishes
Pin It
Ah..... microwaving salt dough! That's what I need to do. I always find salt dough so long to work with so never really bothered. As for the glitter - I can't believe you managed all that with a sick household. You're an amazing woman. xo P
ReplyDeleteI was a bit the same Pauline...but have to say the microwaving worked an absolute treat!!!So pleased with how much time we saved! We had to do something after a week of illness, they were going stir crazy and driving me nuts lol xx
DeleteYes, we made some last year....and gotta love the glitter...it is just magic to kids...we constantly have it in our hair, face...rugs, table tops...grass....EVERYWHERE!
ReplyDeleteYep...very, very rarely do i use it inside...Ruby wields it like a garden hose in all directions!
DeleteNeed to do this with my 2 year grand daughter...does the glitter just stick in the paint, or did you use glue? Lucky you don't live here where it is snowy outside ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much.
Hi Meegan...cornflour paint is basically a paste so it does stick for awhile but to keep it sticking longer i added a squeeze of kid's PVA glue just to help it along. I also mixed a little glitter through the paint as we have been using it for a week now on everything lol! So glad we don't get snow here, not sure i would know what to do with myself hehe!
DeleteA good tip if doing inside is to aly out a large sheet of butcher's paper or newspaper and then just scrunch it all up with the glitter contained when finished! Good luck...you don't even need the glitter, they will still be pretty all the same!
They are so wonderful and festive. I haven't done salt dough ornaments before. I need to, because as simple as they are it's such a good craft activity.
ReplyDeleteThey really are so simple Caitlin...and they will last for ages x
DeleteThey look great, we cooked ours a little too fast in the oven and they cracked on the surface. Looking forward to trying the microwave out next time. Loved that Dad joined in also!!
ReplyDeleteNever mind the cracking Jay...everything looks good with paint and glitter!!!The microwave was definitely easier i think! Just quietly i think Dad had as much fun as the girls!!
DeleteThese are great and it looks like you had a blast making them. There were lots of smiles in these photos. I am stopping by from Kids Co Op. I hope you'll consider adding this to Look What We Did. -Savannah http://lookwhatwedid-homeschool.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Savannah...i will certainly stop by Look at What we Did...thanks x
DeleteThey looked great in the end. We've still not done salt dough. Guess I'd better leave something for next year, lol :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't make salt dough ornaments either. I'll really have to give this a go... when I get enough animal cookie cutters that is!
ReplyDeleteWHA? You can microwave salt dough????? I had no idea and am about to whip up a batch shortly. Thanks for letting me know. No longer do I need to find a few 'spare hours' waiting by the oven.
ReplyDeleteAwesome tip about microwaving! We will try that next time too. I love all the glitter, smart move decorating outside :-) we haven't made any this year, but loved pulling out last years to decorate the tree!
ReplyDeleteYes, joining the chorus... You can microwave salt dough???? I never knew! They turned out great too. My kids would love this :)
ReplyDeleteOh, how wonderful do your salt dough ornaments look!! It is such a fun family activity to do together. I will have to try your recipe, looks great!
ReplyDeleteI have done salt dough for years and I have never heard of microwaving it! What a great tip! I keep our ornaments for years so I hope the microwave dries the dough just as well.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea you could microwave them! Wow! What a timesaver! We always left our to dry out FOREVER! Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDelete