Nest of Posies

the blog

Navigation
You are here: Home / christmas / Salt Dough Handprint Ornaments

Salt Dough Handprint Ornaments

by

 How to make Salt Dough Handprint Ornaments.  Probably one of the most sentimental gifts you can give for Christmas, Grandparent’s Day, or any other day!

Salt Dough Handprint Ornaments

These salt dough handprint ornaments that I did last year, turned out to be one of my most treasured ornaments.  I thought I would share them with you all because these are extremely sentimental, and I highly recommend you all to do these for your little ones.

Salt Dough Handprint Ornaments
Because time moves too fast, not to document childhood & those precious little chubby hands.

Salt Dough Handprint Ornaments
 

This just happens to be a hand print from each of my twins. I wanted it to look as raw & natural as possible. Capturing a moment in time.

Here’s my inspiration for the keepsake handprint:

Salt Dough Handprint Ornaments

For some reason these two hold hands a lot. It’s their “twin thing” to do. AND I love it. As all moms would, my heart melts when they hold hands.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of fussing over toys at our Nest as well, but these two will go down the hall holding hands. They will sit in their car seats holding hands side by side. It’s their “thing”.
I want to capture this before these moments will soon go by.
Here’s what you’ll need~
4 cups of flour
1 cup salt
Food coloring
Large Mixing Bowl
Water to moisten
cookie sheet
just a tad of oil
a small rolling pin or wooden dowel
a drinking straw
ribbon
a plate for a guide
paint *if desired
*My goal for this batch was to do a handprint with both twins’ hands on one keepsake & then to have a separate one for each.* This recipe had enough to make 3 keepsakes. Depending on the size & how many kids you have, you may need to double the recipe.*
Salt Dough Handprint Ornaments

In your mixing bowl ~ gradually blend in your flour & salt with water.
*Remember to add gradually, because you can always add more water then takeaway.*
Salt Dough Handprint Ornaments

It was easier for me to lightly grease my baking sheet with oil & form & roll out on the cookie sheet. Once you have your form made, I suggest you use your straw to make a whole in it before you have your kids emboss their hand print.
Keep in mind you need to have your dough thick enough to form the handprint. If your dough is too thin, it will not work. Place in a 150* degree oven for an hour. Or you can air dry over night & for 24 hours.
Salt Dough Handprint Ornaments

Here’s the picture of all 3 finished. They each have their own hand print & then the one combined. You can paint or gloss however you’d like. For me personally, I wanted it to look as organic & natural as possible.

 My main goal was to allow the Salt Dough Handprint Ornaments to shine naturally.

This truly makes my heart swoon. I love every bit of the natural & raw aspects of seeing their hand prints together. Making these ornaments has captured some beautiful moments that we are experiencing right now in our home. I personally feel any keepsake ornament that can mark a moment in time is the best kind of ornament there is. It tells a story & I love that about homemade ornaments, there’s nothing better.
*This was a guest post I did last year for Stephanie Lynn.  I never published it on my blog last year, but wanted to do it this year.  Of course, looking back & seeing how much the twins have grown melts me as well. 😉  sniff sniff.*
Let’s pin together!  Do you like crafty stuff, kids stuff, a good DIY, food or fun home decor???  Well, then I do too!  Follow Nest of Posies on Pinterest & let’s get inspired together.

SaveSave

SaveSave

Comments

  1. I need to do this. My girls just keep getting bigger and bigger and I am getting so sad. I have their hand prints in the cement in the backyard, and for that reason alone I would be a wreck if we ever moved!!

  6. I’ve heard of salt dough ornaments before but had never really seen any directions. I like to do something homemade for my parents and this will have to be this year’s project…dough handprints of the grandkids. Thanks for sharing!!!

  10. I’m going to do this with Landon tomorrow as gifts for grandmas. Did you paint the double handprint? It looks like it has a great golden glow.

  14. Reading about how your twins hold hands brought tears to my eyes…being a mom has made me such a baby. My babies are 1 and 2, 15 mos apart, and I’ve been having a difficult time lately dealing with how quickly they are growing and that they aren’t really “babies” any more. We had them close together with the hope that they’ll be close friends. We’ll see…if they ever hold hands (not as part of a wrestling manuever), I’ll probably start sobbing. thanks for sharing such a sweet moment

  19. Thanks for sharing this tutorial! Every Christmas time we(I) do a hand print ornament for each of my boys, that way I always have their little hands! I will have to do this project his year! (or sooner 😉 )