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With each baby that we’ve had, we have this lovely tradition to make a salt dough imprint of their tiny feet or hands every Christmas and turn it into a special ornament for our Christmas garland.
I love having this precious memento to remind myself of our little girls when they were this tiny!
It’s not always easy to try to get wriggling toes or tiny squirming fingers to cooperate for this craft, so I definitely suggest having someone help hold your little one still while you gently push their feet or hands into the rolled out and ready dough!
These charming ornaments also make great gifts for grandparents, aunties, uncles (to my family members reading this: sorry for the spoiler this year!) and other special friends in your life.
After baking them in the oven and cooling completely, use some acrylic paint to either paint the print so you can see it better, or paint the whole thing however you like!
After the paint has dried, a nice layer of mod podge will seal it and give it a nice shine to enjoy on your Christmas tree for many years to come.
I hope you enjoy making this simple and inexpensive yet precious keepsake of this time in your baby’s life!
If you are a visual learner like I am, this video might be helpful to see the whole process!
How to Make Salt Dough Baby Foot/Handprint Ornaments:
Supplies Needed:
- Mixing bowl
- Spoon
- Measuring cups
- Parchment paper
- Rolling pin
- Baking sheets x2
- Cooling rack
- Pencil or straw (for poking ribbon holes)
- Dull knife or a large cookie cutter (if you want perfectly round ones!)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all purpose flour (plus extra for rolling out)
- 1/2 cup iodized fine salt
- 3/4 cups water (more or less)
- Additional ideas if not painting:
- White glitter
- Ground cinnamon (cinnamon will make the dough brown)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees fahrenheit.
- Mix flour and salt together in medium size bowl. (Add any additional sparkles or cinnamon if you want at this point, but keep in mind if you want to paint later on it may not matter too much!)
- Add just enough water to make it into a soft dough.
4. Knead for 2-3 minutes so dough is a smooth ball.
5. Divide into 2 balls and roll out to 1/4” thick (or about 1/2 centimeter). *You can try putting a flattened ball between two sheets of parchment paper with flour and rolling it this way, or just flour up a surface and roll out, adding flour as you go. (Try not to add too much flour, just enough so that it doesn’t stick to the parchment or pin!)
6. While baby is held overtop of dough area by one person, another can gently take the hand or foot and press firmly into the soft dough. Make sure to poke each finger and toe so that you get the full imprint! (If you have a really wriggly baby, feet are definitely much easier to do than hands!)
7. If the print is not very deep, it will be harder to see, especially after baking. Use your finger or gently use a utensil to deepen the baby’s print to make it more visible.
8. Use dull knife or large cookie cutter to cut out baby’s print. Gently place on a parchment covered baking sheet, spaced out evenly with other baby prints.
9. Poke a hole above the print for the ribbon, leaving at least 1/2 inch of dough before the edge.
10. Bake on middle rack for about 1.5-2 hours (90-120 minutes). The timing will largely depend on the thickness of the baby prints, so I recommend checking it after 1 hour, and every 20 minutes after that. When done it will be mostly hard yet slightly soft on top (not squish-able!) and slightly golden on bottom. Turn the oven off at this point and just let them continue to dry out in the oven for another hour (or longer if you want, just make sure not to forget about them for the next time you use the oven!)
11. Remove from oven and transfer to cooling racks.
12. When fully cooled (or the next day!) you can use acrylic paint if desired to paint the baby’s imprint area so it can be seen better, and decorate however you like. I also painted the backs once the front side had dried.
13. Seal with mod podge or other craft sealer to help it stay dry and preserved.
14. Don’t forget to write your baby’s name and age with a permanent marker so you don’t forget this precious moment in your baby’s life.
15. Tie with a ribbon and wrap up carefully when not in use. Keep in mind that it may still break if dropped (it is salt dough after all!).
Additional Notes:
1. This recipe makes enough for about 10 handprint or footprint infant ornaments.
2. I had some ornaments puff up while being baked several years ago, using other recipes. So after tweaking it and having many great results, I have learned that puffing up usually happens from these three avoidable things:
- Having the oven too hot
- The dough hasn’t been rolled out thin enough
- The dough has mini air pockets in it
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Hi, I’m Jessie!
I’m a Wife and Homeschooling Mom living in a remote town in Northern Ontario, Canada. I love making wholesome meals for my family from scratch, homeschooling our girls and learning more about natural living.
Read more about my story HERE.
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Salt Dough Baby Footprint Ornaments
Make a salt dough imprint of your baby's hands or feet and turn it into a beautiful ornament or precious gift for your loved ones this Christmas!
This recipe makes enough for about 10 handprint or footprint infant ornaments.
Supplies Needed
Ingredients
- White glitter
- Ground cinnamon (cinnamon will make the dough brown)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees fahrenheit.
- Mix flour and salt together in medium size bowl. (Add any additional sparkles or cinnamon if you want at this point, but keep in mind if you want to paint later on it may not matter too much!)
- Add just enough water to make it into a soft dough.
- Knead for 2-3 minutes so dough is a smooth ball.
- Divide into 2 balls and roll out to 1/4” thick (or about 1/2 centimeter). *You can try putting a flattened ball between two sheets of parchment paper with flour and rolling it this way, or just flour up a surface and roll out, adding flour as you go. (Try not to add too much flour, just enough so that it doesn’t stick to the parchment or pin!)
- While baby is held overtop of dough area by one person, another can gently take the hand or foot and press firmly into the soft dough. Make sure to poke each finger and toe so that you get the full imprint! (If you have a really wriggly baby, feet are definitely much easier to do than hands!)
- If the print is not very deep, it will be harder to see, especially after baking. Use your finger or gently use a utensil to deepen the baby’s print to make it more visible.
- Use dull knife or large cookie cutter to cut out baby’s print. Gently place on a parchment covered baking sheet, spaced out evenly with other baby prints.
- Poke a hole above the print for the ribbon, leaving at least 1/2 inch of dough before the edge.
- Bake on middle rack for about 1.5-2 hours (90-120 minutes). The timing will largely depend on the thickness of the baby prints, so I recommend checking it after 1 hour, and every 20 minutes after that. When done it will be mostly hard yet slightly soft on top (not squish-able!) and slightly golden on bottom. Turn the oven off at this point and just let them continue to dry out in the oven for another hour (or longer if you want, just make sure not to forget about them for the next time you use the oven!)
- Remove from oven and transfer to cooling racks.
- When fully cooled (or the next day!) you can use acrylic paint if desired to paint the baby’s imprint area so it can be seen better, and decorate however you like. I also painted the backs once the front side had dried.
- Seal with mod podge or other craft sealer to help it stay dry and preserved.
- Don’t forget to write your baby’s name and age with a permanent marker so you don’t forget this precious moment in your baby’s life.
- Tie with a ribbon and wrap up carefully when not in use. Keep in mind that it may still break if dropped (it is salt dough after all!).
Northbird 