This tutorial teaches you how to make Christmas ornaments that will save you money. Every year, people spend a fortune during the Christmas season. They have to buy presents for their families and friends, organise parties and get-togethers, decorate the house and garden with fairy lights and new Christmas trees.
This year, instead of letting the children buy Christmas ornaments from the shops, why not let them make some creative handmade things and ornaments to hang on the Christmas tree. This is a great craft activity for kids. They can even invite their buddies over on the weekends for this fun activity. Best of all, each child can bring home their own pieces of handmade craft ornaments to hang on their Christmas trees. You will be surprised with how many beautiful ornaments the children can create and most of the materials required for this exciting activity can be found in your kitchen.
You will need two cups of plain flour, one cup of salt and two-thirds cup of cold water to make the dough.
Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Slowly add in water until the dry ingredients stick together to form a dough. Transfer the dough to a flat surface and knead until smooth.
Divide the dough into smaller portions and roll each portion with a rolling pin until it is flat and measures 5mm in thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out different shapes.
For hanging ornaments, make a hole in each shape with a toothpick while the shapes are still soft.
Line a baking tray with wax paper . Put the shapes on the wax paper and allow them to air dry for a few days until hard.
Alternatively, the shapes can be dried in the oven at the lowest temperature around 100°C. Check on the shapes so that they do not get burnt. The shapes need to be thoroughly dried so that they can keep for a long time.
Once the shapes are dried, they can be painted with acrylic paints and decorated with glitters. Let the paint dry thoroughly before applying varnish.
Use a clear varnish to seal all sides of the ornaments and they can then be used to decorate the Christmas trees. The varnish helps to preserve the ornaments as memory keepsakes and prevents humidity from damaging them.
Make Your Own Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments © 2011 lady rain
