How to make your own salt dough

Get crafty with this easy-to-make salt dough recipe, it's great for a rainy day activity, kids love this stuff!

salt dough recipe
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Salt dough is a wonderful thing that can be used to make kids arts, crafts and ornaments. Whether you're creating seasonal fun gifts and crafts, or DIY keepsakes and to engage the kids - it's a fun alternative to clay that can keep their creativity levels up all year round.

If you get your salt dough recipe perfect, you can use salt dough as an ornament, make it into a bowl or thread ribbon through it for a hanging decoration.

Salt dough is so versatile and makes an excellent model-making tool. You can add any colour you like and if you add spices to the ingredients, when the salt dough dries hard in the oven, it smells amazing when displayed for a long time afterwards.

Cheap cheerful and simple to make, salt dough only requires a few ingredients. If you're looking for things to do with kids it ideal because it's super easy to prepare and make.

Salt dough recipe:

Ingredients

  • Plain flour - 1 cup
  • Salt - 1 cup
  • Warm water - 1 cup
  • Food colouring
  • Shaped cookie cutters (optional)
  • Glaze/paint

Don't use cups? No worries go to our handy cups to grams converter

Method

1. Pre heat the oven to 140 C Add a few drops of your chosen colouring to the warm water. 2. Place the flour and salt in a bowl then pour in the, now colourful water in small amounts, 3. mixing as you go. It should turn into a slightly sticky dough, but not so sticky that it comes off on your fingers. If this happens you need to add some more flour to balance it out. 4. Once you have made the salt dough, roll out to a 1cm thickness - then cut any shape you like - either freehand or with shaped cookie cutters. 5. Next, lay the finished creations out on a baking sheet and pop in the oven on a low temperature, for around 3 hours. 6. Once cool they can be covered in mode lodge, glaze, painted or simply left as they are.

How to use your salt dough

 1. Make an imprint

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Memories fade, but always remember your tots tiny feet with a salt dough imprint - easy to do and so pretty!

2. Christmas ornaments

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Bring a little personalisation to your Christmas tree with these pretty and hanging stars.

 3.  Glitter salt dough

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Now you can put glitter in your salt dough because, well why not... Kids love glitter, right? Check out this cool glitter jars craft if you need any more proof that children just love sparkle!

4. Jewellery bowls

Get the kids to make something practical that mum can use! A pretty little dressing table reminder of your little ones' creativity.

Looking for a homemade food gift or craft to make with your kids? Why not make our very easy basic cupcake recipe at home and then let the kids try their hand at decorating them?

Jessica Dady
Food Editor

Jessica Dady is Food Editor at GoodtoKnow and has over 12 years of experience as a digital editor, specialising in all things food, recipes, and SEO. From the must-buy seasonal food hampers and advent calendars for Christmas to the family-friendly air fryers that’ll make dinner time a breeze, Jessica loves trying and testing various food products to find the best of the best for the busy parents among us. Over the years of working with GoodtoKnow, Jessica has had the privilege of working alongside Future’s Test Kitchen to create exclusive videos - as well as writing, testing, and shooting her own recipes. When she’s not embracing the great outdoors with her family at the weekends, Jessica enjoys baking up a storm in the kitchen with her favourite bakes being chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, and a tray of gooey chocolate brownies