Salt dough is incredibly inexpensive to make and uses common household ingredients that almost everyone has in their pantry all the time. That means you can make one of these precious keepsakes today!
Who knew you could make so many cute things out of a 3-ingredient salt dough recipe? Incredible!
Let's get started.
First things first! You will want to check out our salt dough recipe that we use year after year. We have made so many salt dough crafts over the years that we know all the tips and tricks that will help you make the best salt dough crafts ever!
Everyday Salt Dough Handprint Crafts
Family Handprint Keepsake
Our Family Salt Dough Handprints is one of our favourite projects. Get the whole family in on the fun to make a keepsake that you'll treasure for years. It's especially meaningful for this year when so many of us are spending more time with family. It will also make a lovely gift for grandparents if you get all the grandchildren together to put their handprints on the salt dough plaque.
Handprint Bowl
Make a Salt Dough Handprint Bowl to give to Mom, Dad, or the grandparents. It makes a lovely DIY Christmas gift from the kids, too. Use your handprint bowl to hold jewellery, cufflinks, keys, etc. as you come home in the evenings.
Handprint Frame
Perfect for any time of year, but especially Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, these Salt Dough Handprint Frames will become a treasured gift. What a sweet way to commemorate a baby's first year! It's perfect for any sweet little face, though. They look terrific painted or left their natural colour if your decor is more in the neutral and earth-tone ranges.
Candle Holder Keepsakes
These Salt Dough Handprint Candle Holder Keepsakes by Easy Peasy and Fun are great all-occasion gifts. They're so easy to make, and since it's so cheap and easy to do so, you'll want to make one for all the grandparents, aunts, and uncles. You could also make some cute spoon holders using the same technique and shaping the handprint with a wooden spoon rather than the tealight candle.
Penguin Handprint Ornament
Our Penguin Salt Dough Handprint Ornament is a fun project to make any time during the winter—it would also look super cute on the Christmas tree! It's a great winter craft project for those days when it's just too cold to or wet to get outside.
Lorax Handprint Craft
Raise your hand if you love Dr. Seuss's stories! The Lorax is one of the most popular books and movies from the Dr. Seuss collection. If your child is a fan, make this adorable Lorax Handprint Craft from Jinxy Kids. It's a terrific way to celebrate your child's love of reading.
Thing 1 or Thing 2 Handprint Craft
Speaking of Dr. Seuss, this Thing 1 Handprint Craft by Simply Today Life is another fun project to pair with his book (or the movie) The Cat in the Hat. Get the whole family involved in making them for family movie night. See just how many handprint Dr. Seuss characters you can come up with.
Apple Handprint Photo Keepsake
Whether you're celebrating the first day of school or making a gift for your child's teacher at the end of the year, this Apple Handprint Photo Keepsake from Teach Me, Mommy, is an adorable choice. Add your child's name or grade and the ear, so you'll always remember just how he or she looked at that moment in time.
Sunflower Handprint Keepsake
This Sunflower Handprint Keepsake by Learning and Exploring Through Play is so bright and cheerful. Use the handprint technique to make all sorts of flowers. Daisies would be lovely, too. But sunflowers are a favourite for summer and fall; plus, the cheery yellow colour really lifts the spirits.
Nemo Handprint Plaque
How fun is this Nemo Salt Dough Handprint Plaque by Fun Handprint Art? It features Nemo with Dory trailing behind in a lovely underwater scene. It's a cute piece of decor for your child's room or an under-the-sea themed nursery. You could also make this craft as part of an ocean-themed unit.
Handprint Peacock
Easy Peasy and Fun's Handprint Peacock Craft is so beautiful and colourful. It's the perfect addition for a bird-themed unit study, or you could just make it to celebrate all the beauty of these gorgeously coloured birds. If you're looking for a book to pair this with, Three Hens and a Peacock is a hilarious story that your kids are sure to love.
Holiday and Seasonal Salt Dough Handprint Crafts
Easter Chick Handprint Craft
Handprint chicks are cute for spring, but we thought we'd kick it up a notch by making a keepsake Salt Dough Handprint Chick for Easter. It's totally adorable, and they'll look great on your Easter tree if you put one of those up. Even if you don't, you can hang it on the wall for some fun and colourful Easter decor.
Spooky Ghost Handprint Keepsake
When Halloween comes around, make one of these boo-tiful Spooky Ghost Handprint Keepsakes by Teach Me, Mommy. You'll need to have your child pose with a spooky face (or a funny face if you prefer a friendly ghost). Another cute option would be to take a picture of your child in his or her Halloween costume to put in the frame.
Pumpkin Handprint Keepsake
Celebrate fall with this bright orange Pumpkin Salt Dough Handprint Keepsake by Kids Activities Blog. The handprint is subtle here, but if you want to make it stand out more, paint it with an orange that's 2-3 shades lighter or darker than the exterior colour. Won't this be an adorable reminder of your little pumpkin as you pull this out with your fall decorations every year?
Turkey Thanksgiving Keepsake
Just look at this cute Turkey Salt Dough Handprint Thanksgiving Keepsake from Fun Handprint Art! We love how each of his tail feathers is a different colour. This is an excellent craft to keep the kids entertained while dinner is being prepared.
Elf Handprint Ornament
Get ready to make the cutest elf ever! Our friendly Salt Dough Handprint Elf Ornament has been a huge hit. He will look so cute hanging on the tree or tied to a gift to make it extra special for someone you love. Make these ornaments while you watch the movie Elf during the holiday season!
Santa Handprint Ornaments
Ho, ho, ho! It'll be a Merry Christmas, indeed, when you make these sweet Salt Dough Santa Handprint Ornaments to hang on the tree. What a fun way to preserve those baby, toddler, and preschooler handprints during the holiday season. Of course, the big kids can (and should!) get in on the fun, too. You're never too old to make an ornament for the tree.
Robin Handprint Ornament
Robins are a traditional symbol of Christmas found on cards, wrapping paper, Christmas tins, wreaths, and so on. We decided to make our very own Robin Salt Dough Handprint Ornament for the Christmas tree using salt dough, of course.
Snowman Handprint Keepsake
How cute is this big family of snowmen on the Salt Dough Snowman Keepsake by Learning and Exploring Through Play? It's a beautiful project for one child or the kids to work on together as a group, with each child's hands making a family of snowmen.
Reindeer Handprint Ornament
The Reindeer Handprint Ornament is just one of the many cute keepsake ornaments made by Simple Everyday Mom. You'll also find instructions for an elf, a family of snowmen, and a penguin. You can either leave the hole out and make them mantle decorations or put a hole in the middle finger of the ornament before it dries, though that may make it a little more fragile.
Mitten Ornament
Celebrate baby's first Christmas with an adorable Mitten Ornament, like this one from Fun Handprint Art. We also have a version we made from clay. Our baby handprint ornament is made from homemade clay, but you could substitute salt dough for the clay in our version, too. Won't it look precious hanging on the tree?
Glitter Handprint Ornament
This Glitter Handprint Ornament by The Best Ideas for Kids is a wonderful option for Christmas or Valentine's Day. The glittery baby handprints on hearts will be a treasured ornament to hang on the tree for years to come.
Nativity Salt Dough Ornament
Celebrate the reason for the season with this lovely Nativity Handprint Ornament by Kids Activities Blog! Not only will you be reminded of why we celebrate Christmas whenever you look at this ornament, but it'll be a sweet reminder of your little one at this very stage.
Pin this list of salt dough crafts as a reminder to make lots of treasured keepsakes with your kids while they're still so small. The only thing to decide is which of these adorable salt dough handprints or salt dough handprint ornaments you are going to try first! Here are some more salt dough ideas and salt dough ornaments for you to try.
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