Salt Dough: A Fun-for-the-Kids Make-it-at-Home Clay Alternative

My grandmother insists it has German origins. My grandfather professes it has American Indian origins. They always argued the fact whenever the grandkids where over and we prepared to create our annual Christmas tree ornaments out of salt dough. Since I became an adult and maintain this family tradition, to do away with the argument I did some research and found out grandma was right. In Germany during the early 1900's salt dough modeling was very popular. They used it at Christmas time to make tree ornaments also. They added lots of salt to the dough mixture to discourage mice and other vermin from eating the finished novelties before the end of the season.

You can do salt dough modeling with or without the kids, it is a great creative pursuit for all ages. No special tools are need. You can use just the odd and end items you have laying around the house or that has been abandoned to the infamous (everyone has one) kitchen drawer. Actually I believe that is how my grandmother kept here kitchen drawer from overflowing, because that is were we kids went to get the things we would use to construct and decorate our Christmas ornaments. The basic needs include a comb, tooth picks, and scissors.

This I learned the hard way, do not work salt dough in a room that is to warm (now I know why grandma always had a couple of the kitchen windows open. I thought it was unusual since it was in the dead of winter). You will make more of a mess than you will an ornament. The recipe for salt dough is; 2 cups of white flour (preferably the non self rising brand), 1 cup of regular table salt, and about ½ cup of water. Mix the ingredients together thoroughly and knead very well. Again, knead the mixture very well. Failure to do so will result in a completed salt dough project that will be crumbly and that will crack very easily.

Until the salt dough is ready to use, it should be stored in an air tight container. Do not refrigerate it, just store it in a cool dry place. It should remain fresh for a few days this way. A well mixed batch of salt dough will have the same consistency of clay and can be used in exactly the same way while it is fresh. We used cookie cutters to cut our shapes. We would roll the dough into long strips and twist-braid them into wreaths. It was just as pliable as clay. Grandma would add food coloring to some of the mixtures so an assortment of colors were available.

Once the finished shape was complete we would use the tooth picks, combs, pins, buttons and other things discovered in grandmother's kitchen drawer to texture and decorate the salt dough ornaments. When every thing was complete, they would sit on the window sill in the sun and allowed to air dry. Depending on the thickness of the dough used, that would take between 24 to 48 hours. But since this was the weekend, we would not get to revisit them until the following Sunday. You know a week is way too long in a child's life. But anticipation for that next visit was always high. Start a salt dough Christmas ornament tradition in your home. It is loads of fun and it creates wonderful lasting memories.

Resource: Personal Experience