Lissiegirl Blogs!: Perfectly Simple Salt Dough Ornaments

Call me tardy to the party, but I have to share this with you!

Yes, Christmas Day has come and gone, but I'll bet 9 out of 10 of you are still sitting in a house completely decked out & you're all probably munching on lingering treats & sweets, so it's really not that much of a stretch.

Believe me, when you're freaking out next year on what to do for the kids in your Sunday School class, or for the kid's school Christmas party, this is the one tutorial you'll be glad you pinned.

It's a bit of a long post, so grab a mug of something warm, put your feet up & enjoy!

If you've been following my blog, or if you've known me for any length of time, you'll know how much I love teaching Sunday School! It is by far, my favorite ministry in the church. If I had to chose between choir and teaching, choir would be dropped in a heart beat. Yes, really, I love it that much.

You'll also know that we are on a super tight budget.

So, what happens when Christmas rolls around?

Normally, I cry. Seriously. I always want to get something for the girls in my class, but with 12-15 girls on any given Sunday, there is no way I can fit a nice gift for each of them into our budget.

Well, this year, I was determined to do something.

Enter Pinterest!

While searching, I came across a few recipes for salt dough ornaments and was surprised at what I saw!

When I think of salt dough ornaments, I think of a Kindergarten activity with tacky paint & glitter.

Yeah, not gonna happen. lol!

But, what I saw was so far from that! I knew right away, that this was the perfect gift for them.

It turned out so nice & was so C H E A P, I had to share it with you all!

How cheap?

I had a budget of $30, and was able to make 24 gifts. SCORE!!! Thank you, Hobby Lobby!

Here's what you'll need for the entire project & what I paid for it all.

1. Salt - uh, duh! (.64c)
2. Flour ($3)
3. Water ($0)
4. Cookie cutter or drinking glass ($0)
5. Mixing bowl ($0)
6. Wooden spoon ($0)
7. Rolling pin ($0)
8. Stamp(s) ($5)
9. Ink ($3)
10.Ribbon ($1.50)
11.Tissue paper ($1.50)
12.Gift bag(s) ($.50c x 24 = $12.00)
13.Candy canes ($2 for 24)

Seriously, this is so easy. You'll be doing this every year!

Step 1: Pour all of your dry ingredients and half of the water into a mixing bowl

Step 2. Stir with a wooden spoon until it becomes too difficult, then kneed with your hands, adding a little more water 'till you get a nice (not-sticky) dough feel.

It took me about 3 minutes, and a full cup of water, to get to this consistency.

Step 3. Roll dough out on a flat surface, just like when making cookies

I rolled mine out to about a 1/4" thickness, but it's totally your preference.
Just remember:
the thicker the dough, the longer it will take to bake, and the less you'll get from each batch.
(this recipe gave me 40 3" cookies)