I am so excited to share this craft with you today. Yes, this is another one of those ideas I saw floating around Pinterest that screamed my name and gave me an excuse to ignore the boxes in our closet that have yet to be unpacked. These ornaments turned out so precious though, and despite looking like a lot of work were actually very simple to make. I didn’t even need to swing by the craft store since I had all the supplies on hand. Here’s the tutorial I followed. I highly recommend her salt dough recipe since I had no issues with cracking whatsoever- a common complaint of fellow crafters.

The possibilities with these ornaments are endless. I’ve seen a lot of people make Santa handprints like us, but you could make reindeer, penguins, Christmas trees, or whatever else you choose. You could also cut a big circle and label a footprint or handprint for baby’s first Christmas. You know those kits they sell in the stores for $15? Save your cash. This is the exact same thing.

I definitely recommend gathering a helper for the handprint portion of the project. You’ll need to make an impression in the dough and babies aren’t always cooperative. Since two month olds make fists the majority of the time, having Will’s help on this one was critical. We took a very sleepy baby and squished his hand into the dough eight times before lying him back down in his crib. Then mama went to work. Or… Then mama cleaned the mess in the kitchen as the ornaments baked in the oven.

After the ornaments were cooked and cooled, I painted Santa in layers. I made sure I gave each color ample time to dry before moving on. The next day I gave them a final coat of Mod Podge and adorned them with festive string. Before we knew it, I had an army of Santas to mail out as gifts for the holiday.