Christmas Tree Dough Ornaments

No - there hasn't been a time warp (how many of you are now doing ... or at least singing... the Time Warp from Rocky Horror?? Be honest!) and we're back in the holidays. I just never got around to posting this topic and I wanted to share some more holiday pictures of the kids. (What? Me sharing pictures of our kids? SHOCKING!)

One of the holiday activities that we took on before Christmas 2011 was making dough ornaments for our tree. The dough couldn't have been easier to make (recipe will follow) and the kids had a fantastic time making them! We used my mini Christmas cookie cutters and one of my snowflake cookie cutters. While Annika and I headed up the "cutting out" portion of the project, Conor whacked at his ball of dough with a small rolling pin and occasionally snacked on the incredibly salty dough... decided he didn't like it while making a really funny screwed up face, spat it out, whacked the dough, and then tried another bite. (The boy doesn't learn!)

One of the best parts of this project was decorating the ornaments. The kids had a blast painting their ornaments and taking charge of how their ornaments looked. Colors were delicately applied by Annika; she was precise in her color placements and techniques. Conor smashed his colors into the ornaments with flair and passion.

The final phase of the project was hanging our dried ornaments on the tree. Again, the kids dove in head first and loved seeing their creations on the tree. (Buca liked the ones that fell off and asked us for more snacks like them... but maybe with a little less salt!)

Annika believes that one must be dressed to the 9s while doing art projects

Conor creating a color mixture for his ornaments

Annika's Ornaments

Conor's Ornaments

Dough Ornament Recipe:
1. Mix 1/2 c salt, 1/2 c water, and 1 c flour until forms a ball.
2. Knead briefly on lightly floured surface or in the bowl. (Note: I wore food handler gloves to keep my hands from getting dried out by the dough's salt.)
3. Roll out to 1/4  inch (plus or minus)  thick.
4. Cut with cookie cutters.
5. Use a toothpick or small straw to make a hole in each ornament for a hook or thread for hanging.
6. Place ornaments on a cookie sheet.
(Hint: I use parchment paper to keep the ornaments from sticking to the pan) at 250 degrees for 2 hours.
7. Cool completely.
8. Paint with poster paints, puffy paint, and/or glitter glue.
9. String thread or place hook through hole.
10. If desired, spray with a sealer in a well-ventilated area or outside.


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