Salt Dough Rabbit Ornaments for Spring

Make these adorable rabbit ornaments for Spring using salt dough and cinnamon for a vintage look. They're a great table decorating idea, Easter filler or gift!
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Hello sweet friend! 

Are you dreaming about Spring? I have started decorating my home and it's always fun to unpack the bunnies and eggs!


It's Thrifty Style Team again, when I join several blogging buddies to share our budget-friendly home decor ideas with you! It's a bittersweet month as we lost two dear friends from this group, Paula from Virginia Sweet Pea to cancer just a couple weeks ago, as well as Michelle from The Painted Hinge. We will miss our talented friends and think of them often ❤❤

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Thrifty Style Team March project collage

Salt dough rabbit molds

Have you ever made salt dough before? I shared some fun ideas for Valentines Day, making two different heart garlands for my mantel. Salt dough is so easy to make, it's just flour, salt and water! It mixes up just like cookie dough and is easy to roll out and cut out with cookie cutters.

Today I'm spicing it up...literally! I was so inspired by Miss Mustard Seed's gingerbread salt dough ornaments at Christmas. The addition of cinnamon gives the salt dough more of a vintage look, and it smells amazing too! I didn't add as much cinnamon as MMS did, but the dough still smells amazing and is easy to work with.

I bought the cutest wood rabbit mold on Amazon to make some Spring decor and thought I would share all the details with you today. There are definitely some tips I'll share to ensure you have success if you try this at home.

First of all, here are the ingredients you'll need for a batch of cinnamon salt dough. 

Cinnamon Salt Dough Ingredients

  • 1-1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup table salt
  • 1/2 cup ground cinnamon
  • 3/4-1 cup room temp water

Mix the dry ingredients together, add the wet and mix until it just comes together (you don't want crumbly dough so add a little more water if needed). Knead the dough for a couple minutes on a floured surface until it's a smooth ball. See more detailed steps and pictures here.

How to make salt dough rabbit molds

The first time I tried pressing the salt dough into my wood mold, it was stuck bad! I had to pick out the dough little by little.

Tips for success
I found that a stiff kitchen brush was much better than my fingers to clean the wood mold! I also found that dusting the mold with flour before I pressed the dough into it helped the dough to release much easier.

stiff brush to clean molds, dust with flour before using
It was a little trial and error until I figured it out. By the third one, I felt like a pro! To make the cinnamon rabbit molds, smooth out about a palm sized piece of dough and press into the floured mold. Press firmly with your palm, and to get a flat surface, use the flat end of a kitchen pastry scraper (which is what I found was the easiest) and press the dough flat.
using salt dough in wood cookie mold
Then you should be able to carefully peel the dough out of the mold. If it's not releasing, you probably need more flour. To get neat edges around the ornaments, I trimmed the excess dough with a butter knife.
trim edges of ornament after removing from wood mold
Once all your molds are made, make sure to make a hole at the top if you might want to hang them (you won't be able to do this once they dry). Bake the molds in a 200° F oven for about 30-40 minutes, then flip them over and continue to bake for another 30 minutes.

The salt tends to rise to the top as the molds dry out, which really makes the design part of the mold pop! I think it makes them look like little antique works of art!

add hole for hanging before baking

Once the molds are completely cooled and dry, it's time to decorate!

I threaded some blue gingham ribbon and lace through the holes of my rabbit molds and used them on my Spring dining table. I used a wooden dowel to poke the ribbon through the hole. I also had a small piece of blue velvet ribbon left, and it was just enough to make two small bows. A little button finishes it off.

I'll be sharing the full reveal and details of my table soon, but here are a few sneek peeks and ideas for how to decorate with the rabbit molds!

Ideas for decorating with rabbit molds

Layer the cookie molds in a nest of moss with robin's eggs.

rabbit salt dough ornament in nest of moss

Add the rabbit molds to a small bowl (like this ironstone pudding bowl) as decor. You can see a peek below at the air dry clay mushrooms with polka dots I made last week.

Spring decor on dining table

Place a rabbit mold at each place setting, either in a nest or bowl, and accent with a mini egg.

cinnamon salt dough rabbit ornaments in mini nests

Create adorable Spring and Easter vignettes with the rabbit mold, spring flowers and the vintage style drop cloth carrots I made.
cinnamon salt dough rabbit ornaments, farmhouse carrots, painted pots of moss and lavender

Other ideas

  • hang rabbit ornaments from an Easter tree
  • make them with cookie dough as edible ornaments
  • brush the cookies with a little chocolate to make chocolate bunnies
  • attach them to Easter gift bags for teachers, friends, etc
  • make ornaments using regular salt dough and paint them with watercolors

velvet bow and button on cinnamon salt dough rabbit ornament

Shop Spring wood molds

I would love to know if you're inspired to try making your own wood mold decor and ornaments for Spring! Let me know in the comments!

Pin it to remember!

cinnamon salt dough rabbit ornaments for Spring and Easter decorating

Please visit the rest of the Thrifty Style Team projects by clicking on the links below! I know you'll be inspired 🌷

DIY Beautify - you are here
Postcard From the Ridge -  3D Paper Egg Ornaments
2 Bees in a Pod -  Stamped Eggs for Spring
The How-to Home -  DIY Hand Stamped Napkins
Amy Sadler Designs -  Easy DIY French Country Table Runner

You may also like these Spring projects

Happy almost Spring!

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Comments

  1. Mary BethMarch 11, 2022 at 7:59 AM

    These are so lovely and totally have a vintage vibe, Cindy! The detail is amazing. I haven't made salt dough since I was probably in my early 20's or late teens so I need to revisit this crafty experience. Thank you so much for the inspiration dear friend. xo

    ReplyDelete
  2. Angie at Postcards from the RidgeMarch 11, 2022 at 9:03 AM

    Cindy, these are so beautiful! They look like antique pieces with the cinnamon that you added. Perfect for your spring vignettes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cindy DIY beautifyMarch 11, 2022 at 12:38 PM

      Thanks so much Angie! I thought they looked vintage too...which makes me love them even more! ;)

      Delete
  3. Lady PamelaMarch 11, 2022 at 10:05 AM

    These are brilliant! Do you think I could use air dry clay for the same project?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lady PamelaMarch 11, 2022 at 10:18 AM

    Also, I usually order from Amazon.ca. I thought I would mention it so you could get your commission from your Canadian fans. It seems a shame for you to miss out. Just a thought.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cindy DIY beautifyMarch 11, 2022 at 12:37 PM

      Thanks, that's so sweet! I think even if you link to Amazon from my site and then switch to Amazon.ca I still get commissions. Not sure on that though.

      Delete
  5. Jennifer HowardMarch 13, 2022 at 5:54 PM

    I just can't...these are so pretty and your styling is perfect! I really love this project.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lynne ZemaitisMarch 13, 2022 at 7:15 PM

    Wow! Cindy, these are beautiful! I am inspired to give these a try! Thank you for sharing!

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    Replies
    1. Cindy DIY beautifyMarch 15, 2022 at 11:20 AM

      Thanks so much Lynne, I hope you enjoy making your own version!

      Delete
  7. Julie redheadcandecorate.comMarch 14, 2022 at 4:04 PM

    These bunny ornaments, are so adorable, Cindy! I made a "salt map" in 2nd grade of the state of Maine...I bet kiddos would love this project.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cindy DIY beautifyMarch 15, 2022 at 11:20 AM

      Thanks Julie, I remember doing something with salt dough as a kid...I think I remember "sampling" the dough haha ;) Yes, this would be fun to do with kiddos!

      Delete
  8. Laurie @ Vinyet EtcMarch 15, 2022 at 11:06 AM

    I LOVE your salt dough ornaments, they are simply adorable! I seriously have to try to make them. I LOVE that you've added cinnamon, the colour is perfection!

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    Replies
    1. Cindy DIY beautifyMarch 15, 2022 at 11:19 AM

      Thanks so much Laurie, I'm so happy with how they turned out! Send me a pic when you make some! ;)

      Delete
  9. Lora BloomquistMarch 15, 2022 at 8:43 PM

    These turned out just beautifully, Cindy! They totally look vintage with the cinnamon. I've never used wood molds before; didn't know they were so readily available. Now you've got me thinking...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Michelle JamesMarch 20, 2022 at 5:02 PM

    Cindy, these are simply stunning. I definitely want to try this project especially with the cinnamon. I love love the vintage look at creates. thank you so much for sharing your talent with us happy Spring! Michelle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cindy DIY beautifyMarch 21, 2022 at 4:19 PM

      I'm so glad you like them Michelle, it's always fun when a project turns out better than you expected! Happy Spring!

      Delete
  11. Thistle Key LaneMarch 26, 2022 at 8:10 AM

    I love your rabbit ornaments Cindy and can't wait to try them out. I guess I'm on the hunt for cookie molds now! Pinning!

    ReplyDelete

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