25 Days of Christmas Ornaments - DAY 6

Here's an ornament idea I stumbled on and wanted to try.

 

I gathered these supplies

And then I prepared the dough

 

{Ingredients}

 

1 Cup Salt

2 Cups Flour

1 Cup Water

 

Directions: Mix together until smooth.  The dough will probably be wet, but don't panic.  Just add flour (I added 1/4 cup) until it's not too sticky to handle.  I took a small chunk and rolled it out.  I recommend having flour handy to sprinkle over the dough as you roll it out.

 

I may have rolled some sections out too thin, but it's a learning process so I decided not to let it bother me.  I have plenty of dough left, and I'm sure my girls will want to try this when they see mine.

 

I chose some stamps and two colors of ink.

 

I first tried this bird stamp

 

 

I don't know if the pearlescent ink I chose will show up well, but I wanted to give it a try.

I may have pressed too hard, but I kind of like the outline of the stamp on the dough.

 

Once I tried a few stamps, I used some biscuit cutters to create circle shapes.  Of course, other shapes would work, as well (I have a good heart shaped cookie cutter that would work).

 

 

Before baking, I created the holes for the string (floss, twine, ribbon, jute, etc.).  My straw for my Starbucks cup worked perfectly for this

 

 

And a small screwdriver worked for the smaller ornaments

 

 

They are currently baking (on a parchment lined baking sheet) at the recommended 250 degrees for 3 hours, but I'll be checking them often.

 

Mostly I want to dry them out so I can string them.

 

I'll update this post when they're done...

ETA: Here they are.  I spritzed them with a shimmer spray to give them a shine.

And here's what I learned

- I would lower the oven temperature and bake them for longer.  One of the ornaments started to brown on the bottom, and another one puffed up a bit (although I think that one was way too thin to begin with).
- Unlike the other ornaments I've made so far, this one was quite challenging.  Getting the consistency of the dough right took some extra time and it's important to roll out the dough to an even thickness.
- This one is not as kid-friendly as the previous ornaments I've made.

But I'm still happy with how they turned out and I will absolutely make these again.