Making beautiful holiday ornaments with dough can be fun and easy if you follow these steps.
Ingredients
- Oil (enough for your hands)
- 4 cups of flour
- 1 1/2 cups of water
- 1 cup of salt
- Food coloring
Step 1
Rub your hands with cooking oil. This will give the dough more resiliency as you work with it.
Step 2
Mix together all-purpose flour, water and salt. Use your hands for best results.
Step 3
Roll out the dough until it is flattened to approximately 1/4 inch. Dough rolled too thickly will take longer to dry, too thin and the dried ornaments break more easily.
Step 4
Cut out shapes with cookie cutters.
Step 5
Place an oversized needle through the top of each ornament and lace thread through it. The hole should be at least 1/8 inch from the top of the ornament.
Step 6
Lay out plastic on a table or another flat surface. This will prevent staining as you paint the ornaments.
Step 7
Mix together 1/4 bottle of food color with one cup of water to paint the ornaments.
Step 8
Paint with a basting brush, or for finer lines, use cotton swabs.
Step 9
Put your ornaments, four at a time, in the microwave, for about two minutes depending on your microwave.
Step 10
Check the consistency of the dough. It should feel like a moderately dampened sponge.
Step 11
Microwave for one more minute.
Step 12
Spray ornaments with extra hold hairspray or lightly coat with flecto varathane or decopauge.
Step 13
Allow ornaments to dry overnight.
Tips
- Children especially love working with the dough, cutting with the cookie cutters and helping with the painting, while toddlers adore rolling the dough as this gives them a chance to join in the fun.
- If you paint before you do the drying, it will allow for more contrast, especially on ornaments that have two or more colors.
- Please note that the hairspray, flecto varathane and/or decoupage may not make your ornaments last longer, but they do add to the aesthetic quality of your ornaments. Also, do not microwave the dough after it is sprayed with hairspray, flecto varathane and/or decoupage. These chemicals are flammable.
- Decorating ideas:
- Put silver cookie beads in ornaments while still damp.
- Cookie sprinkles can be lightly applied and lightly pressed into the dough.
- Yarn can be used to make hair or smiles on the ornaments.
- Set small amounts of dough in different colors to be rolled into eyes, mouths, shoes, buttons, etc.
- Whatever you or your children can come up with, be creative.
- Spray paper plates with a non-stick cooking spray (such as PAM) to avoid sticking.
Warnings
- DO NOT EAT this mixture!!!
- THESE DOUGHS ARE NOT EDIBLE due to the high salt concentration (although if just a small amount is ingested, it won't hurt you. The taste alone will be enough to deter large quantities being eaten) especially if hairspray or other TOXIC substance is used on them.
- In case of ingestion, if you have used any kind of color that's not FOOD COLOR, call immediately a medical practitioner. If there aren't TOXIC substance in them, make sure the child is given a good amount of fluids through the day due to the high salt content of the dough.
- Adult supervision is recommended when placing the ornaments in the microwave.
- Do not place anything metal in the microwave.
- Do not place dough on newspaper - it will get ink on the dough. Though it could make an interesting twist!
Things You'll Need
- Rolling pin
- Cookie cutters
- Needle and thread or yarn
- Plastic (for covering a table or other flat surface)
- Basting brushes and cotton swabs
