Salt Dough Ornaments!

Hi Everyone! I can't believe that Christmas is last than one week away! Hopefully you are all ready for it and can just enjoy this last week celebrating with your family and friends! Several of my friends with children are creating salt dough ornaments and it is a great way to enjoy the holidays together. Babies: paint their hands and feet or press them on the cookies. Toddler and older can help make the ornaments as well as decorate them! Remember to make a lot as everyone in the family (grandparents, aunts/uncles, "adopted" aunts/uncles, etc) would love to get the ornaments you create as a little added part if their presents. Tie them to the outside of the present with the bow and tag! Enjoy!

What you will need:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup table salt
• 1/2 cup warm water
• Bowl
• Spoon
• Cookie sheet
• Toothpick
• Pint: white, orange and black
• Paintbrush
• Ribbon
• Acrylic sealer spray

How to make them:

1. Place flour, salt and water in a bowl and mix with the spoon. You can hand mix or use the dough hook on a kitchen aid, put in all the ingredients and let it go for about 8 minutes. A bit of scraping and repositioning was needed in the process. You could mix it all by hand too; just make sure it's nice and smooth and everything's well incorporated before you start rolling.
2. Remove a small piece of dough for making the nose and roll the larger piece of dough between your palms to form a ball.
3. Press the ball down onto the cookie sheet with the palm of your hand, flattening it out.
4. Roll the small piece of dough with your fingers into a carrot shape. Press firmly but gently onto the round flattened dough.                    
5. Insert toothpick toward the top of the head, but not too close to the edge. Move the toothpick in a circular motion to enlarge the hole so that it is big enough to run a piece of ribbon through. 
6. Bake ornament at 250 degrees for 2 hours. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack. 
7. When completely cool, Paint the round section white and the nose orange. 
8. Use the handle end of a paintbrush dipped in black paint to dot on the snowman's eyes and mouth. Let dry.  
9. An adult should spray the ornament with a couple of coats of sealer. 
10. When dry, tie a ribbon hanger through the hole in the top.

 Tips:

1. If you want to create a perfect circle, place dough inside a round biscuit or cookie cutter and spread with your fingers.
2. Salt dough will break if dropped, so be sure to handle the ornament with care.
3. The oven step can be skipped if you allow the ornament to dry overnight.

  Other Ideas to create:

1. Stamped "sophisticated" ornaments.
2. Hands, feet, and paws! 
3. Add color to some of the dough and make candy canes!

*Roll out the dough after mixed, stamp with the design of your choosing, cut into the desired shape, and continue with step 5, 6, 9, and 10!