Salt Dough Ornaments

In keeping with the vow to insert a few more homemade moments into our season, I decided to venture in to salt dough ornaments. I can remember many a chilly afternoon with my mom and little brother, industriously stamping out shapes in soft homemade salt dough, impatiently waiting for them to dry out in the oven, then painting with abandon many a candy cane, snowman, star, and mysterious yet meaningful blob.

Audrey only being two (plus a little), I decided to make the ornaments ahead and have her participate in just the painting. I would love for this to be something we do frequently during the giving seasons ahead, and something that she in turn will look back on with fondness... perhaps remembering the activity and fun with her little brother, too, soon!

I used a very simple recipe- 2 parts flour, 1 part salt, 1 part water- but I improvised a little by subbing the water with strong coffee. The coffee made the dough a slightly warmer, slightly more antiqued color, and it smelled pretty good, too! Then, after using our favorite cookie cutters to cut out the ornaments and using a straw to poke holes in them for yarn later, I baked them in a 250 degree oven for about an hour. After they cooled completely, my Little Artist took over, and we both couldn't be happier with the results.

 

Now all I need to do is give them a good coating of spray sealant, string them on warm strips of fuzzy wool yarn, and find them homes on family Christmas trees! Beautiful.