Go Back
How to make a salt dough heart garland.
Print

How to Make a Salt Dough Heart Garland

Learn how to make a beautiful, simple salt dough heart garland in this easy DIY step-by-step craft tutorial with photos.
Author: Laura Radniecki

Materials

  • Flour - 2 cups.
  • Salt - 1 cup.
  • Water - 1 cup.
  • Mixing Bowl and Spoon
  • Cutting Board
  • Rolling Pin
  • Heart Shaped Cookie Cutters
  • Cookie Sheet
  • Parchment Paper
  • Paper Drinking Straw
  • Twine
  • Scissors

Instructions

  • Using this simple salt dough recipe and tutorial, make a batch of salt dough.
  • Mix 2 cups of flour and 1 cup of salt in a mixing bowl.
  • Stir in 1 cup of water, adding the water in small amounts and stirring it in thoroughly each time before adding more.
  • Knead the dough for 5 minutes and let it rest for 10 minutes.
    Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to make it easier to handle.
  • Roll the dough out using a flour-coated rolling pin and cutting board so it doesn't stick.
    The salt dough should be ¼" thick or slightly less.
  • Use heart cookie cutters to cut out heart shapes from the salt dough.
    Place the hearts onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
  • Use a drinking straw to add a hole to the top of each heart shape.
    Paper drinking straws work great for this because you can throw them away after they get plugged up with salt dough from making the holes.
  • Bake the salt dough hearts for 2+ hours in a 250 degree Fahrenheit oven until hard.
    You can also leave them out to air dry for at least several days, depending on the temperature and humidity level in your home.
  • Use pieces of twine to string through each of the hanging holes, and knot the twine close to the heart.
    You are giving each heart a small hanging string, which will be threaded onto a longer twine string to make the garland.
  • Trim the extra twine from each salt dough heart.
  • Cut a long twine piece.
    String on each of the hearts.
  • Tie loops at each end of the twine hanging string.
    Your salt dough heart garland is finished!

Notes

  • You can double the salt dough recipe to make a double batch, or halve it to make a small half-batch. As long as the proportions of the ingredients are kept the same. 
  • Add the water in small increments, stirring each bit of water in fully before adding more.
  • Roll the salt dough out to about ¼" or thinner, before cutting with cookie cutters. The thicker dough takes longer to dry out. Thinner dries faster, but is less durable and more brittle.