If you’re looking for an alternative to making the popular salt dough paw print ornament this holiday season, grab your favorite dog cookie cutters and let’s make some super cute homemade ornaments inspired by your favorite furry buddy!
DIY salt dough pawprint ornaments are cute but for me, they mean something totally different than a cute ornament to hang on the Christmas tree.
I won’t go into details because this is meant to be a happy holiday post, but if you’ve ever lost a dog, you probably get where I’m coming from.
Not to mention, getting a clean pawprint in clay or salt dough with a Newfie is a challenge in itself.
So instead of doing the traditional salt dough pawprint ornaments this holiday season, I opted to go with using some of my favorite dog-themed cookie cutters to make these fun DIY dog ornaments.
These salt dough ornaments were fun, to make and a blast to decorate!
Ingredients Needed To Make Salt Dough Dog Ornaments
The cool thing about making homemade salt dough dog ornaments is that they only require 3 staple ingredients that don’t cost a lot of money.
All you need for this salt dough recipe is:
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour Flour (not self-rising)
- 1 cup of salt
- 1 cup of warm water
Since I was making bigger ornaments and experimenting, I doubled the recipe so if you plan on making smaller salt dough projects you can cut the measurements in half.
This salt dough recipe gave me 21 ornaments of various sizes. (some of mine were BIG)
Supplies For Dough
The most important supply you’ll need for making these salt dough dog ornaments is a cute cookie cutter but other baking supplies you’ll need include:
- Mixing bowl
- Rolling pin
- Cookie sheet
- Parchment paper or silicone baking sheet
- Dog-shaped cookie cutters
- Straw or something to poke a hole in the top of the ornament for string or ribbon
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The type of cookie cutters you use is up to you.
I have at least 2 dozen dog cookie cutters and I made one batch using my Newfie cookie cutters and a batch using dog paws, dog bones and of course a Corgi.
A few of the cookie cutters that I have are actually stamps so for the first go around I just used the stamp in the salt dough.
They came out good but the next time, I wanted to see how they looked inside a round shape.
My daughter painted Finn’s and it looks so GOOD!
Supplies For Decorating Salt Dough Dog Ornaments
The decorating is the fun part and how to choose to decorate your ornaments is completely up to you!
The supplies I use are:
- Paintbrush
- Acrylic craft paint
- Mod podge
- Glitter
- Marker
- Pretty ribbon or twine
Directions:
- Add salt and flour to bowl and mix.
- Next, add warm or hot water to your large bowl and mix well.
- Use your hands to knead the dough and make sure all the ingredients are well blended
- If your dough is too sticky, add more flour. If it’s crumbly, add more water.
- Use your rolling pin to roll the ball of dough to about 1/4″ inch thickness
- Use your cookie cutters to cut shapes into the dough
- Don’t forget to make a small hole at the top of each ornament
- Place salt dough cutouts onto an ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking liner.
- Bake at 250 F for 2-3 hours (the bigger ornaments I made took longer)
- Allow the salt dough ornaments to cool completely
- Get creative and decorate! The decorating is so much fun!
The acrylic paint should be enough to seal your baked ornaments but you can also use Mod Podge or a clear glaze spray as an added sealer.
( I used a mod podge spray that I picked up at Michaels)
Is Salt Dough Toxic To Dogs?
Yes, salt dough is toxic to dogs because it contains a lot of salt.
Even 1-2 salt dough ornaments can be toxic to dogs if eaten.
Make sure to keep your salt dough dog ornaments out of reach of your pets-hang them high on the Christmas tree.
Salt Dough Alternative For Making Dog Ornaments
If you’re looking for a no-bake way to make DIY dog ornaments or if the salt dough isn’t your thing, you can definitely use self-drying clay to make these too.
In fact, I made both to see which type came out better and which method is easier to make.
The salt dough dog ornaments came out better, were cheaper to make and even though they require baking, they were much easier to use with cookie cutters.
A Few Tips If You Make DIY Paw Print Salt Dough Ornaments
If you want to make DIY paw print ornaments instead of using a cookie cutter, I do have a few tips for you to use!
- Wipe your dog’s paw before you do the print
- If you have a dog with hairy toes like a Newfie, trim the hair first
- Use a tissue to place on the dough, and then press your dog’s paw to make the print
- Wipe your dog’s paw AFTER you make the print.
How To Use Your Salt Dough Dog Ornaments
You can do so many fun things with these salt dough ornaments besides hanging them on the Christmas tree!
- Make a dog-themed garland
- Use them on a wreath
- Give them as gifts
- Make a shadow or memory box
How To Decorate Salt Dough Dog Ornaments
Salt dough ornaments look cute decorated or not decorated!
If you want to decorate your salt dough ornaments you can use:
- Acrylic paint
- Markers
- Glitter
- Stickers
- Cookie stamps (for names and messages)
You can even add food coloring or acrylic paint to the salt dough before you bake it.
I haven’t tried food coloring this so I can’t give you the exact measurements.
I added brown acrylic paint to one bath of dough and while it’s hard to tell in the picture, I liked the way they came out better than just painting them.
I can’t tell you an exact measurement of how much pain I added because I just added it until I like the color.
Some people also add cinnamon or essential oils to their salt dough but I opted to not do this because Lou was already super interested in them.
How Long Do Salt Dough Ornaments Last?
My favorite Christmas ornament that I made when I was 5 years old is still going strong! (that’s 30+ years).
I always make sure to store our salt dough ornaments by wrapping them in tissue paper and they go in our ornament boxes inside a closet.
Where I Bought My Dog Cookie Cutters
I always get asked where I get my dog cookie cutters from and the answer is Amazon and Etsy.
Here’s where each cookie cutter I used to make these salt ornaments comes from:
- Newfie Cookie Cutters (they have an entire post dedicated to them but they are from Amazon and Etsy)
- Different-sized bone-shaped dog cookie cutters- Amazon
- Yin Yang dog paw print and hand cookie cutter- Amazon
- Paw with heart – Amazon
- Small heart with 4 paw prints – Amazon
- Medium heart with paw prints- Amazon
- Corgi head cookie cutter- Amazon
p.s. I made about 50 salt dough and clay ornaments because I was experimenting. Now I have to decorate them all with the help of my daughter:)
DIY Salt Dough Dog Ornaments (Using Cookie Cutters)
If you're looking for an alternative to making the popular salt dough paw print ornament this holiday season, grab your favorite dog cookie cutters and let's make some super cute homemade ornaments inspired by your favorite furry buddy!
Ingredients
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour Flour (not self-rising)
- 1 cup of salt
- 1 cup of warm water
Instructions
- Add salt and flour to bowl and mix
- Next, add warm or hot water to your large bowl and mix well.
- Use your hands to knead the dough and make sure all the ingredients are well blended
- If your dough is too sticky, add more flour. If it's crumbly, add more water.
- Use your rolling pin to roll the ball of dough to about 1/4" inch thickness
- Use your cookie cutters to cut shapes into the dough
- Don't forget to make a small hole at the top of each ornament
- Place salt dough cutouts onto an ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking liner.
- Bake at 250 F for 2-3 hours (the bigger ornaments I made took longer)
- Allow the salt dough ornaments to cool completely
- Get creative and decorate! The decorating is so much fun!
Notes
Salt dough can be toxic to pets so make sure to keep them out of reach of furry paws!
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