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Alright guys, I think I’ve found a new ornament gifting tradition to add to Christmas! It’s super easy and you probably already have what you need.
Every year my son and I either buy or make Christmas ornaments for friends and family. It’s honestly an accidental tradition started when he was in pre-school. Since we are a military family we don’t always get to see family for the holiday’s so we sometimes spend it with friends that feel like family so I began gifting them ornaments for the holidays as a way for them to remember us. In exchange, we’ve received many ornaments as well over the years and I will admit, it brings back floods of memories when it’s time to decorate our tree. Sharing the stories with my son about each and every one is something special I look forward to.
So this year I decided to do something a little different that required some Pinterest searching and a budget of…$0. Yes, I am going the cheap route this year and there’s no shame in my home-made game.
I generally like to keep my crafts simple, with as little trips to the store as possible and this one was a win! All you really “need” is some flour and salt and the rest can be figured out along the way. To be honest, I didn’t want to spend ANY money this Christmas with our second baby due any day. So naturally- I jumped on Pinterest, typed in a few keywords and voila…a quick check in my pantry and we found ourselves a craft!
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED:
WHAT WILL BE HELPFUL:
Rolling pin (or something to roll dough with)
Measuring Cup
Baking Sheet
Parchment Paper or Foil
Dowel (or something to poke a hole with)
Pam Spray Oil
MOD PODGE Glue
HOW TO MAKE SALT DOUGH
STEP 1
Combine 1 cup of salt and 2 cups of flour in a mixing bowl
STEP 2
Slowly add 1 cup of water and mix
(Tip: I used my Ninja blender with the dough attachment to save my arms on all that work)
If you use a blender or mixer, your dough will first look like this…just make sure to knead it together with your hands after.
STEP 3
Knead dough until it is not sticky but will hold its shape, then keep covered until ready to create!
CREATING ORNAMENTS
STEP 4
Take a handful of dough and roll it out about 1/4” thick
STEP 5
Use a cookie cutter or plastic knife to cut out your ornament shapes.
STEP 6
Using a small straw or wooden dowel/tooth pick, poke a hole at the top of your ornament dough where you will later pass a string through to hang.
DRYING ORNAMENTS
(Preheat your oven to 200*)
STEP 7
Lightly spray your foil with Pam or use Parchment paper and place your ornaments on a baking sheet.
STEP 8
Bake at 200 for 2-4 hours or until your ornaments are rock hard and one solid color front/back.
Let cool
STEP 9
Paint your ornaments with acrylic paint and let dry.
STEP 10
Coat your ornament with a layer of MOD PODGE glue to keep the paint from chipping.
Once your ornaments are completely dry you can use a string or ribbon to hang them or gift them to a friend.
MAKE A KEEPSAKE
This is the perfect opportunity to make any keepsakes you’ve been wanting to make! My chihuahua will be turning 13 next year and I have never made any type of keepsake for her so I thought, what better time than now? I went ahead and painted it her signature pale pink wrote the date and location on the back. The location is particularly important to me since our ornaments are pretty much a road map to where the Coast Guard has sent us over the years. This one is for sure my favorite!
If this sounds like something you’re gonna give a go- make sure to come back and share how it went with me. I’d love to know if you have any suggestions to the recipe that might make it easier. (Even though it’s already easy)
Thanks for reading 🙂
