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    Home » All Natural

    December 23, 2022

    Salt dough garland | Christmas DIY

    All it takes to make this pretty salt dough garland are three simple ingredients from your pantry, cookie cutters, paint, and string! Yes, it's a primitive salt dough recipe but this is an easy Christmas craft and the decorating possibilities for this craft project are endless. You and your kiddos will love making these no-bake salt dough Christmas garlands so much, you'll end up making it a tradition to look forward to every year!

    Actually, the idea for this salt dough garland came from the salt dough gingerbread ornaments I made last Christmas. Do you remember those? I had so much fun making and decorating those homemade ornaments with craft paint. I used those ornaments in festive tablescapes and as pretty holiday decorations for Christmas presents.

    This Christmas when I was thinking of making a pretty garland to drape over the fireplace in the living room this super-easy salt dough recipe was the first thing that came to mind.

    Easy DIY salt dough Christmas garland made with pantry supplies
    Easy DIY salt dough Christmas garland
    Table of contents
    • Air dry salt dough recipe
    • How to make your own salt dough Christmas garland
    • How to store your salt dough garland
    • Conclusion
    • Salt dough garlands to buy
    • More Christmas crafts

    Air dry salt dough recipe

    To make this salt dough Christmas garland you will first need to grab my salt dough ornament recipe. Basically, you're only going to need salt, all-purpose flour, and some warm water so go and grab that recipe and come back here so we can get on with making these salt dough Christmas ornaments.

    ★Tip★ For a Christmassy aroma, add a few drops of essential oils to the dry ingredients in the salt-dough recipe.

    How to make your own salt dough Christmas garland

    For your convenience, this website contains affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase through one of these links, I may receive a small commission. You pay the same price whether you use my link or not. Thanks so much for your support of Chalking Up Success! Please read my full disclosure here.

    Supplies

    • Salt dough (Get the recipe)
    • Large bowl
    • Christmas cookie cutter collection
    • Acrylic non-yellowing varnish
    • Glue gun
    • Glue sticks
    • Black spray paint or acrylic paint
    • White spray paint or acrylic paint
    • Gold spray paint or acrylic paint
    • Ornament hooks

    Decorations

    • Silver wire
    • Black and white baker's twine

    ★Tip★ Gingerbread men look great in a garland! It's easy to make them with a gingerbread man cookie cutter.

    Instructions

    Just follow the simple step-by-step directions below and you can't go wrong!

    Once you have your batch of salt dough, use a rolling pin to roll it out on a piece of parchment/baking paper.

    Cut shapes in the salt dough with Christmas cookie cutters.
    Using Christmas cookie cutters to cut shapes in the salt dough

    For the next step, use some cookie cutters to cut out Christmassy shapes in the salt dough.

    Don't forget to make some holes in the salt dough so that you can string the ornaments into a garland later.

    Place the ornaments on a cookie sheet to dry turning them every now and again so that they dry evenly. By placing the decorations on a baking sheet you will prevent them from bending while they dry.

    Salt dough shapes drying on an oven rack
    Salt dough shapes drying on an oven rack

    Drying time will vary depending upon the humidity in your home but after about a day, the ornaments should already be quite hard. Remove the parchment paper and place the ornaments onto an oven rack to complete drying. They will take between two to four days to dry out completely.

    ★Tip★ Kids love making holiday crafts. Keep some salt dough back for them to make a special ornament for the Christmas tree!

    How to paint salt-dough

    Salt dough snowflakes sprayed with white paint
    Salt dough snowflakes sprayed with white paint

    To paint my gingerbread ornaments last year, I used these pretty acrylic paints. This time, I decided to try out some spray paint and that turned out great as well.

    I used black paint for the trees, white for the snowflakes, and gold for the stars.

    A layer of acrylic sealer will make the ornaments even more durable.

    I thought the Christmas tree decorations looked a little bit boring so I wrapped them with some silver wire to jazz them up.

    The hot glue gun was perfect for gluing a small piece of silver wire to each of the Christmas tree ornaments. Here's how to do that:

    Using a glue gun to attach wire to the Christmas trees
    Use a glue gun to attach the wire to the Christmas trees

    Add a dab of glue to the top of a Christmas tree ornament

    Hold the end of the silver wire in the hot glue until it hardens

    Wrapping silver wire around black Christmas tree ornaments
    Wrap the Christmas trees with silver wire.

    Wrap silver wire around the Christmas tree ornament

    Cut the end and attach it to the ornament with another dab of glue

    Repeat for all Christmas tree ornaments

    How to string a salt-dough garland

    Salt dough Christmas trees, stars and snowflakes ready to be made into a garland.
    Salt dough Christmas trees, stars, and snowflakes are ready to be made into a garland.

    Now that you've made lots of lovely salt dough decorations, it's time to make them into a beautiful Christmas garland.

    A salt dough garland strung with black and white striped twine.
    Colored twine gives this garland a festive look.

    Thread the ornaments onto a piece of striped baker's twine or ribbon making sure to alternate the shapes as you go.

    A salt dough garland strung with black and white striped twine.
    A salt dough garland strung over the fireplace at Christmastime
    A salt dough Christmas garland hanging over the fireplace.

    Now, you have a lovely salt dough garland to add to your Christmas decorations!

    ★Tip★ Turn left-over ornaments into gift tags or tree ornaments.

    How to store your salt dough garland

    Store your garland in an airtight container and it will last for years to come!

    Conclusion

    Salt dough projects are great for kids and adults alike and these homemade decorations are perfect for making beautiful keepsakes for the Christmas season.

    Making salt-dough decorations is quickly becoming one of my favorite holiday traditions, maybe it will become one of yours too!

    Happy crafting and happy holidays!

    Salt dough garlands to buy

    If you love the look of these primitive salt dough garlands but don't have to time make the ornaments yourself, here are some ready-made options to buy.

    More Christmas crafts

    A white pillar candle inside a walnut wreath candle holder.
    How to make a pretty walnut wreath candle holder
    An air dry clay star garland strung with fairy lights
    An air dry clay star garland strung with fairy lights
    A wooden triangle Christmas tree lit up with fairy lights and decorated with a garland of stars.
    Wood triangle Christmas tree
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    Join my Facebook group here: Organize, Decorate, Create. I'd love for you to join our community!

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    1. Rebecca says

      December 23, 2022 at 6:25 pm

      Thank you for all of your posts. Merry Christmas. ☃️

      Reply
      • Jayne Westerholt says

        December 23, 2022 at 7:47 pm

        Thanks for reading them, Rebecca! Merry Christmas to you too!

        Reply
    2. JoAnn Schlueter says

      December 23, 2022 at 6:56 pm

      Looks like a lot of unique ideas

      Reply
      • Jayne Westerholt says

        December 23, 2022 at 7:46 pm

        Thanks, JoAnn. Happy Christmas to you!

        Reply

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