See all our salt dough ornaments
We love salt dough handprint ornaments and have several more designs that you might like to look at in our collection of salt dough ornaments. My personal favourite (as well as the elf craft we are sharing today) is our salt dough Santa handprint, but I also think that you will love our most recent handprint ornament, our salt dough penguin handprints.
Below we have added instructions for making salt dough as well as how to use it to make a salt dough elf ornament. If you are looking for more elf crafts check out our elf on the shelf craft. If you want to make a salt dough elf ornament that looks like your elf on the shelf you can easily change the colours of the elves hat, skin, hair and eyes!
If you love Christmas handprint crafts like this elf handprint take a look at our collection of handprint Christmas cards.
Salt dough handprint ornaments - Christmas elf craft
Salt dough handprint ornament ingredients/ supplies
I have included affiliate links below. If you use these links I will earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
- 2 cups of plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 1 cup of salt
- 1 cup of water (you may need less)
- Acrylic paint
- Sharpie markers
- Spray sealer
- Ribbon
Salt dough recipe
Making salt dough is so easy! Simply mix 2 cups of plain flour (all purpose flour) and 1 cup of salt together in a large bowl and then add 1 cup of water. Mix the ingredients together and knead the mixture into a dough.
Check out our easy salt dough recipe for tips, tricks and different ways to dry and varnish salt dough.
How to make salt dough handprint ornaments - elf craft
STEP 1: Make a salt dough handprint
Follow the simple recipe above to make a batch of salt dough. Once you are happy with the consistency of your salt dough roll it into a ball and flatten it slightly before helping your baby or toddler press their hand into the salt dough. Make sure each finger is pressed into the salt dough firmly.
STEP 2: Cut out salt dough handprint and bake
Before baking the salt dough you need to cut out the salt dough handprint. Using a sharpe knife carefully cut arount the handprint. Run a finger along the sides to get get rid of any rough edges. Make a small hole at the top of the middle finger using a skewer. Bake the salt dough in an oven at a low temperature for a few hours (more details can be found with our full salt dough recipe)
STEP 3: Paint salt dough handprint ornament
I would recommed using acrylic paint to paint your salt dough ornaments. Begin by painting the palm of the handprint in a flesh colour and then paint the fingers green (this will become the hat). Once the flesh colour has dried paint on some hair.
Add a painted pom pom and red trim to the elves hat and use the end of a paintbrush dipped in red paint to make the elves nose. If you want rosey cheeks add a tiny bit of pink paint to your elf's cheeks and dab it with a dry paintbrush.
STEP 4: Add details to your salt dough elf craft
The easiest way to add a smile to your elf is to use a marker pen. Make the white of the eyes by dipping the end of a paintbrush in white paint and then onto the handprint, once dry draw the coloured part of the eye on using a marker pen.
STEP 5: Seal the salt dough
If you want your salt dough craft to last through the years I would recommend sealing it so no moisture can get into the salt dough and ruin it. You could paint on mod podge all in one glue and sealer or use a spray sealer. Leave the sealer to dry (this can take several hours depending on the sealer used).
STEP 6: Hang your elf salt dough ornaments
Thread a piece of ribbon through the hole at the top of your elves hat. Your salt dough handprint ornament is now ready for hanging!
We hope that you have fun making these salt dough handprint ornaments and that this Christmas elf craft is something that you can treasure for years to come! Whether you used a baby handprint or you made this easy salt dough craft with a toddler, it is sure to look adorable hanging on the Christmas tree. Don't forget to take a look at our other salt dough ornaments.
Follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube or Subscribe for free email updates!
No comments