Holidays & Entertaining Easter Easter Crafts How to Make Homemade Salt Dough Easter Eggs For this mom, decorating salt dough Easter eggs is a new family tradition. By Sarah Martens Sarah Martens Instagram Sarah Martens is the senior food and recipes editor at Better Homes & Gardens overseeing all food content on the site. She is a writer, recipe developer, and editor with more than a decade of expertise in publishing. She got her start writing a food blog and firmly believes it’s not a party without a cheese plate. When she’s not thinking about what she's going to eat next, you’ll find her attempting (and regretting) art projects with her kids, scouring the internet for the perfect pair of loafers, or working to perfect her grandmother’s all-butter pie crust recipe. She holds a B.A. in public relations and marketing from Drake University. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on March 11, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Courtesy of Sarah Martens Project Overview Skill Level: Kid-friendly Working from home with two children under the age of four has taught me a few parenting lessons: It's fine if that pile of laundry never gets folded. Sometimes a bribe of brownies for breakfast is a must. Video meetings can be dicey. And keeping things normal for my kids means taking time to craft and create together. After the egg shortage of 2021, I found some creative alternatives to dyeing eggs. My family loved making these salt dough Easter eggs so much - it's become a tradition. They're made from items you most likely have in the house already, and they were a total homerun with my girls. They spent hours giggling, painting, and showing off their finished designs. Just what we needed to pause and enjoy life. What You'll Need Equipment / Tools 1 Mixing bowl 1 Measuring cup 1 Spoon 1 Rolling pin 1 Cookie cutters 1 Cookie sheet 1 Artists paintbrushes Materials 1 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1 cup table salt 1 1 cup warm water 1 Bamboo skewer 1 Acrylic craft paint 1 Ribbon Instructions Prep The Dough In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, and water. Stir or knead the dough until smooth and not sticky. It should have a play-dough-like consistency. I added a few pinches of flour as I was stirring to get there. Let the dough sit for 20 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness. (It doesn't need to be exact!) Related: 40+ Fun and Easy Easter Crafts for Kids Cut Shapes Using desired cookie cutters, cut dough into various shapes. I found it was easiest to dip the cookie cutter in flour and then cut out the dough. (If you want, you can turn these into salt dough Easter egg ornaments to hang on an Easter tree. To do that, poke a hole at the top of each cutout using a bamboo skewer.) Place the cut shapes about 1/2 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. They don't spread much during baking so you can place them pretty close together. Editor's Tip: If you don't have an egg-shape cookie cutter, use a glass or round cookie cutter to create a circle. Then gently use your fingers to form it into an egg shape. Bake The Cutouts Bake the ornament at 250 degrees for 90 minutes; flip, then bake another 90 minutes. It seems like a long time, but it's very hands-off. If your shapes are on the thicker side, they may take a little longer. You're looking for them to be firm and dry. Remove the pan from the oven, and let the cutouts cool completely before moving on to the next step of this salt dough Easter craft. Decorate Once completely cooled, decorate your salt dough Easter eggs with acrylic paint. You could also glue on glitter or other embellishments like sequins. Let your designs dry completely. If you opted for ornaments, string a ribbon through the hole and hang on your Easter egg tree. Add a name and date to the back and give them as handmade gifts. I'm planning on delivering a few to nearby grandparents this weekend. Editor's Tip: If you're decorating these with young kids, try using washable tempera paint. I found it worked just as well as acrylic and I didn't stress when my 2-year-old dropped her paintbrush on the floor.