Since this week is leading up to Christmas in July (not that I am participating in any particular Christmas in July celebrations) I figured that I would post a few of my favorite easy Christmas crafts...
and one of my favorite things to make for Christmas is ornaments.
I love them because they are small, they are usually thoughtful and evoke a memory or will in later years, and they are something that people are usually happy to receive.
One of our Christmas traditions is to give a decoration of some sort that has the current year on it (we kinda commemorate each year... and I fantasize about a day when my whole tree is covered in ornaments that will remind me of the year it came from... you know someday when I'm old and grey, and I can say to the grand-kids your mom made this when she was your age or this is from the year me and your poppy got married... ). We started this tradition back in 2004 when Robyn and I celebrated our first Christmas, and we have continued every year since.
So this year I decided that I would make my own.
I have used Salt dough before for ornaments and I love using it, it's so easy to make it lasts forever in the fridge if you have left over dough, as well you can let it air dry or heat it in the oven, then just paint it and your done! Not to mention that it's cheap to make... if you have flour and salt your ready to go!
So this year my family is receiving salt dough ornaments as their item with the year on it...
Here is the recipe I use.
2 c. Flour
1 c. Table Salt
1 c. Water
Mix in a large bowl, roll out and cut with cookie cutters then allow to air dry (which can take 24-48 hours) , or bake in the oven at about 100 degrees (which may take 3-4 hours)
These ornaments are great to make with kids of the appropriate ages of course.
Here is a sample of what I have completed so far...
The color is off a bit but it is pink with purple letters and some glitter on the edges...
That is my one tip for making ornaments... Make them sparkle a little, then when the tree lights are on they will catch your eye a little more...
What kind of ornaments do you like to make?? I'd love to have something new to add to my collection of crafts for gift giving... if you'd like to share that is...
