Homemade Ornaments

I know this post is coming late, but December was a busy month to keep up with all of the fun and creative festivities going on.  I have a friend that hosts an ornament exchange party every year. I was skeptical at first because I didn't feel like I had the money to go buy 10 nice ornaments for exchanging just to possibly get back 10 different ornaments that I may not even want. Then I realized that I can make my ornaments to bring so that the cost isn't too much of a concern, and I can design one that is actually meaningful to share without shopping all over town to find one that speaks to me.

In the end I was very happy with the result. The cost was low, they carried a story or sentimental value, and they looked pretty. They were very simple too. I made all 10 of them, plus a few extras, in an afternoon.

The recipe is simple:

• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup  baking soda
• 3/4 cup water

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir continuously until it starts to thicken and looks like instant mashed potatoes. 

At that point, remove the dough from the pan, cover it with plastic, and let it cool.  While it was cooling, I worked on my design. For the design you can use cookie cutters, cookie stamps, a number of different ideas such as a leaf or lace for imprints. I found a cookie cutter I liked for the shape and used the blunt tip of a mechanical pencil to trace a stencil for the design. 

Once it has cooled (about 20 minutes), knead the dough and form it into a nice smooth ball. 

Then roll it out to about 1/4" thick and cut your shapes.  Then add your design or impression if you would like. You can also just leave them smooth. Painting can be done later. 

You could use a straw to poke holes at the top for threading a string through, but I decided to make hooks to loop my string through. I made my hooks from paper clips.  I could get three hooks from each one. 

 I inserted these into the top of each ornament, carefully making sure the ends were secured into the center of the thickness of dough. 

Lastly the ornaments need to dry out and harden.  You can leave them out on the counter for at least 24 hours to accomplish this, or if you're more impatient like me, you can do this in the oven. Turn your oven on very low- like 170 degrees, and leave them in for about an hour. I repeated mine on both sides just to be sure. 

At this point they are ready to go. Use an ornament hook or ribbon to thread through each hook and hang on the tree. You can also paint them if you'd like. I brushed each of mine with a light gold metallic acrylic paint to give them some extra sparkle.