Learn how to make salt dough hearts with a hole for a hanging string in this easy step-by-step Valentine's Day tutorial!
Learning how to make salt dough is a great skill for any crafter to have.
Salt dough is easy to make (it takes only three ingredients!) and can be used to make anything from a natural form of play doh for kids to beautiful Christmas ornaments and even a lovely salt dough garland.
Today, we are going to make cute salt dough hearts for Valentine's Day!
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Why You'll Love This Craft
- Salt dough is super easy to make - it only takes three simple ingredients! Flour, salt and water - that's all you need!
- Kids love making salt dough because they can help. They can pour, mix, stir, knead, and roll. Each step is perfect for kids (as long as an adult can handle the oven-baking part!)
- You can make salt dough ornaments of all different shapes - like these round salt dough Christmas ornaments, or the heart-shaped oraments we are making today.
Craft Supplies You'll Need
- Flour - 2 cups
- Salt - 1 cup
- Water - 1 cup
- Mixing Bowl and Spoon - To mix the salt dough in.
- Rolling Pin - For rolling out the dough.
- Cutting Board - A surface to roll the dough out on.
- Parchment Paper and Cookie Sheet - For putting the salt dough hearts on.
- Heart Cookie Cutter - We are making heart-shaped ornaments so we are using a heart cookie cutter.
- Paper Drinking Straw - This is how we will make a hole at the top of each ornament for the hanging string.
- Twine - The hanging string. You can use any type of string if you don't want to use twine.
- Scissors - For cutting the hanging string to size.
How to Make a Salt Dough Heart
Step 1. Using this easy salt dough recipe tutorial, make a batch of salt dough.
Step 2. Mix 2 cups of flour and 1 cup of salt in a mixing bowl.
Step 3. Slowly stir in one cup of water, adding it in small amounts and mixing thoroughly with each addition.
Step 4. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, let it rest for 10 minutes, and place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to make it easier to handle.
Step 5. Roll the chilled dough out onto a flour-coated cutting board, using a flour-coated rolling pin to keep it from sticking.
Roll the dough to a little less than ¼" thick.
Step 6. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes out of the dough.
Step 7. Place the dough hearts onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
Use a paper drinking straw to add a hole to the top of each heart.
Step 8. Bake the salt dough hearts in a 250 degree Fahrenheit oven for 2+ hours or until they are hard.
You can also leave them out to air dry, but this will take at least 2-3 days, depending on the temperature and humidity levels of your house.
Step 9. Tie a piece of twine through the hanging hole and knot the top.
Your salt dough heart is done!
Common Questions
To make salt dough, all you need is flour, salt, and water!
Yes, you can double, triple, or halve the salt dough recipe, depending on how much salt dough you need! The standard recipe calls for 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, and 1 cup water.
A double batch of salt dough: 4 cups flour, 2 cups salt, 2 cups water.
A triple batch of salt dough: 6 cups flour, 3 cups salt, 3 cups water.
A half-batch of salt dough: 1 cup flour, ½ cup salt, ½ cup water.
Make sure you put the salt dough in the refrigerator for 10+ minutes before you roll it out for the cookie cutters. This will make it easier to roll and less sticky.
If it gets too sticky as you're working with it, you can put it back in the refrigerator and chill it again.
You can also add a little more flour to the dough and to the cutting board and rolling pin to decrease the stickiness of the dough.
Salt dough is so versatile - you can use it as a simple play dough, or you can cut it into shapes using any type of cookie cutter.
The hardened shapes make great ornaments and can be painted easily using acrylic paints. You can even make a pretty salt dough heart-shaped jewelry dish! That makes it the perfect kids' craft or handmade gift idea!
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How to Make a Salt Dough Heart
Materials
- Flour - 2 cups.
- Salt - 1 cup.
- Water - 1 cup.
- Mixing Bowl and Spoon
- Rolling Pin
- Cutting Board
- Parchment Paper and Cookie Sheet
- Heart Shaped Cookie Cutter
- Paper Drinking Straw
- Twine
- Scissors
Instructions
- Using this easy salt dough recipe tutorial, make a batch of salt dough.
- Mix 2 cups of flour and 1 cup of salt in a mixing bowl.
- Slowly stir in one cup of water, adding it in small amounts and mixing thoroughly with each addition.
- Knead the dough for 5 minutes, let it rest for 10 minutes, and place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to make it easier to handle.
- Roll the chilled dough out onto a flour-coated cutting board, using a flour-coated rolling pin to keep it from sticking.Roll the dough to a little less than ¼" thick.
- Use cookie cutters to cut shapes out of the dough.
- Place the dough hearts onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet.Use a drinking straw to add a hole to the top of each heart.
- Bake the salt dough hearts in a 250 degree Fahrenheit oven for 2+ hours or until they are hard.You can also leave them out to air dry, but this will take at least 2-3 days, depending on the temperature and humidity levels of your house.
- Tie a piece of twine through the hanging hole and knot the top.Your salt dough heart is done!
Notes
- You can double, triple, or halve the salt dough recipe to make a larger or smaller amount of salt dough. As long as the proportions of ingredients are the same, the recipe will work!
- Mix the water in slowly, stirring each increment in fully before adding more.
- Refrigerate the dough before rolling it out for the cookie cutters. This helps decrease the stickiness of the dough.
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