More DIY Ornaments: Salt dough & cornstarch dough

 Having trouble finding ornaments that fit your theme or color scheme? That's not a problem if you make your own!!! But when you do DIY, you need a bit more time to make time for all your projects and still enjoy the holidays. Once Halloween is over, it all seems to fly by so quickly.....there never seems to be enough time, enough money, enough sleep. Let's get a jump on it this year !

Here's a sample of some ornaments that my girls and I made last year. I used two different DIY recipes to create these lovelies: salt dough and corn starch dough. The recipes from Pinterest are as follows:

As you can see, these are both very simple recipes with only a few inexpensive ingredients. Which dough you choose depends on the final effects you're hoping to achieve. Do both if you'd like! This is really fun and easy enough to do with little ones. Medium ones like this, too. ; )

Materials: 

Ingredients for dough

Rolling pin

Parchment paper

Cookie sheet(s)

Cookie cutters and stamps

Paints and/or glitters

Sealant (clear coat or clear varnish)

Ribbon, string or ornament hooks

STEP # 1: MAKE YOUR DOUGH

Salt dough is a thicker, courser dough. On the plus side, the salt gives the dough a sparkly look, but that same salt content makes working this dough really uncomfortable if you've got sensitive skin. And God forbid you have a paper cut!! Ouch!!!! Still, If you want unfinished ornaments (that you won't be painting),  this is probably your better choice. These ornaments are slightly less fragile than the cornstarch version, making them a bit more child friendly. In the photo below, the darker colored ornaments are salt dough. 

Cornstarch dough is very smooth and porcelain-like. It's much easier on the skin, but it's a bit more fragile as a dough and as a finished product. 

Both doughs have a less than pleasant smell. I tried to counteract that by adding cinnamon essential oil to both doughs...and they smelled great! Until they were baked. Then no more smell. (Thought I'd save you the essential oil in case you had the same thought.) Besides, if you choose to seal the ornaments, it's a wasted step. More on that in a bit....

STEP # 2: CUT & EMBOSS YOUR DOUGH

Once you have your dough, roll it out just as you would for making cut-out cookies. We used both cookie cutters and free form cutting with crafting stamps - both rubber and foam - to create these ornaments. The stamps added some terrific textural detail. Be sure to coat your stamps with either flour or cornstarch, depending on which dough you choose, to ensure stamping success. It's no fun when the dough gets all sticky and tangled up in your stamp. Some folks do fingerprints, footprints, key prints, etc in these doughs, and make some lovely keepsakes.  Whatever you create, be sure to poke a hole in each for hanging purposes before you bake! While you're creating, preheat your oven to 200 degrees. (I know it says 175 above. Trust me, they all got the baking part dead wrong. I made hundreds of these last year. I did a lot of experimenting.) 

You can paint your doughs prior to baking if you want more subtle coloration, or after if you're going for more vibrant. 

Lay your completed ornaments on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper, and pop them in the oven. And wait. And wait. And wait some more. Cuz' you know how the instructions say bake for one hour? The instructions are full of @?!"    

Depending on the size and thickness of your ornaments, it's much closer to 5-6 hours, sometimes more. Even very small, thin ornaments took at least 2-3 hours. Otherwise, you end up with ornaments that are still doughy on the inside, and very unsound structurally. You're better off waiting...believe me. This impatient one tried and reaped the consequences in broken and ruined ornents. 

Occasionally flip your ornaments over with a spatula to ensure that both sides receive adequate baking time. And let them cool completely before you try to decorate or handle them. 

STEP # 3: DECORATE YOUR ORNAMENTS 

If you didn't already paint and/or embellish your ornaments, now's the time!  Here's some inspirational samples. Can you guess which ones the kids did? 

STEP 4: SEAL & HANG

If you want to preserve these ornaments from the elements (or pets - I've heard horror stories of dogs eating these and getting sick all over...), you need to seal them. I used a spray paint based clear coat that you can purchase at any hardware store or crafting store. I suggest 2 coats with adequate dry time between coats. Let dry according to your clear coat instructions, then string with ribbon or use an ornament hook. And happy tree decorating to you! 

(Side note: Sealing cancels out any lingering scent that may have remained from additives like the cinnamon essential oil I tried. But honestly, the scent didn't hold up in the baking process any way. Save your sweet smelling stuff for a more suitable project.)

Here's a final pic of last year's trees featuring these ornaments: 

Thanks for following the continuing saga! Hope you're feeling inspired to get sassy and create something fabulous!