As a parent there is little more I treasure on my birthday or Mother’s Day than the gifts my children make themselves. If you are looking for a simple gift kids can make themselves then these salt dough necklaces are sure to become a treasured keepsake.
Salt dough is easy to make. Toddlers and preschoolers will need some guidance but older children should be able to follow the recipe independently. Once the dough is ready, the fun begins!
Cut out your choice of shapes with cookie cutters, bake them slowly and then have fun decorating.
See our other popular DIY gift idea kids can do: Homemade Coasters with Sharpie Art.
Salt Dough Necklaces Recipe & Tutorial
You will need:
- 1½ cups white flour
- 1 cup salt
- ¾ cup water
- Additional flour for dusting hands
- Baking paper
- Baking tray
- Mixing bowl
- Rolling pin
- Cookie cutters
To decorate:
- Child friendly acrylic paint or paint pens
- String or yarn
- (Optional) Sequins and embellishments
- (Optional) Hot glue gun
Don’t have the ingredients for salt dough handy? Our three ingredient Air Dry Modelling Clay will work too.
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven on low to 200˚F/100˚C.
2. Mix the flour and salt together well.
3. Slowly add the water. Mix well.
4. Dust hands with flour. Form dough into a ball. Set aside.
5. Line an area of your bench or table with baking paper.
6. Dust your hands and lined work area with flour. You’ll want to make sure you cover the area well or the dough could stick to the paper. Place the dough ball on the dusted table area.
7. Roll the dough out to desired thickness with the rolling pin.
8. Use the cookie cutters to cut shapes out of the dough.
Tip: After placing the cookie cutter down into the dough, we wiggled it around a little bit to help lift the dough from the baking paper.
9. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the shapes onto the baking pan at least 1 inch/3cm apart.
Tip: If you have excess dough left over, you can re-roll it back into a ball and roll the dough out again to create more shapes.
10. Add holes to the dough toward the top of each shape with a straw.
11. Bake in the oven for two to three hours.
12. When the dough is completely dry, paint the shapes.
Allow paint to dry.
13. Add string, ribbon or yard through the holes to make necklaces.
14. (Optional) Add embellishments such as sequins and gems with hot glue.
15. Gift to a friend or family member. They’ll be sure to wear your salt dough necklace with pride!
More gifts kids can make:
Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
