Salt Dough Ornaments

The hubs and I found a hand print ornament kit at Bed, Bath and Beyond just after turkey day and I was SO excited to try it out. Since it's baby bear's first Christmas, we wanted to do something extra special to remember it, thus baby hand prints (generic, we know). It was basically foam that you molded and pressed the baby's hand into, with some extra parts to make it an idiot proof project. Well I guess I'm an idiot then, because that foam didn't roll out, it just stuck to the rolling pin, the table, the waxed paper, the baby's hand.. And if anyone has ever tried to do something like this with a 4 month old, they know that getting them to spread out their hand is pretty much impossible. Long story short, after about the 5th attempt to get the ornament re-rolled out because the baby kept grabbing instead of spreading those little fingers, steam was coming out of my ears and the hubs kindly picked up the whole kit and deposited it in the trash can. Whew. That was the biggest waste of $10 to date. Luckily, I happened to peruse Pinterest that day and find a salt dough ornament recipe. I figured that since I already had all of the ingredients, it was worth a try. Huge success.

Here's the recipe:

Salt Dough

2 cups of flour

1 cup of table salt

1 cup of lukewarm water

Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl, then add about half of the water, stirring with a knife. Add the water one spoonful at a time, until the dough comes together and is pliable enough to knead, but not sticky.

Knead the dough for 10 minutes to remove all of the air bubbles. Roll out to about 1/4 thick, using a dusting of flour if necessary. Use a cookie cutter to cut out a shape, press baby's hand into dough and make a hole for string at the top. Place in the oven at 120 degrees for 2 hours. 

My variation: I used a bowl to cut the circles (we're classy in these parts), since my cookie cutters weren't large enough. Also, to poke the hole at the top, I used an icing tip. I used a toothpick to write baby bear's name on the ornaments. Since my oven doesn't go as low as 120 degrees, I just placed my ornaments on a piece of waxed paper and let them dry out for three or four days. When dry, I applied a coat of polyurethane to seal them. Add some ribbon and wah-la! Perfect gift for Grandparents! 

I HIGHLY suggest that you place the cut out piece on the cookie sheet BEFORE you do the hand print, so it doesn't get stuck to the counter and you don't end up getting into a yelling match with your kitchen counter like I did... Not the best circles, but it was a learning experience.

Finished product:

Success. And the grandmas loved them!