Dough ray me faa so la te Dough!

Yay!!  We made more ornaments!  These turned out sooo cute, at least I think so.  They are great fun for all ages;  Russ loved helping with these from start to finish.

So basically, you will make a playdough type dough mixture.  Just mix together 1 heaping cup of flour, 1/2 cup of salt, and 1/2 cup of water.  Mix it up with your hands.  The dough should feel like playdough if the consistency is right.  Just add more water or more flour until you get it right.  If you want colored dough, just add some food coloring.  Once mixed, sit it aside for awhile (trust me, its easier to work with if you let it set for about 30 minutes). 

Now its time to shape your ornaments.  You can do it any way your heart desires.  Of coarse, you can use cookie cutters or a knife to cut out the shapes.

You can roll out little "snakes" with the dough and then shape them.  I did letters for each of my kids' initials.  You can also twist the "snakes" together and form them into a circle for a wreath.  I haven't done this yet, but I want to twist a white one and a red one together and shape it into a candy cane (to make white dough, just add cream of tartar).

This snowman is made by rolling balls and stacking them. 

I also want to try cutting out a simple round shape and then carving an initial into it, or etching a picture into it.

Once your shapes are made, put them on a cookie sheet and bake at about 250ish for 2 hours.  Be sure to flip them every 25 minutes so they don't turn brown.  If you do a standing ornament, don't worry about it.

Take the ornaments out of the oven and let them set until they are completely cool before you paint them.  If you don't, the paint doesn't stick right.  If you have rough edges, just file them off with an emory board or sand paper.  After the paint drys, be sure to spray a clear coat over them for protection and to add a nice shiny finish.

If you do make these, please send me pics to post!!  I have sooo many more fun ideas for these;  I would love to see what every one else comes up with, too.