How to Make Simple Christmas Ornaments with Victorian Salt Dough

Children of All Ages Can Make Simple Christmas Ornaments with Victorian Salt Dough

Handmade salt dough Christmas ornaments have been a special part of the holidays for a century. The simple dough calls for three readily available ingredients, but don’t be misled: while salt dough ornaments can be simple, they can also be complex works of art. This is why kids of all ages can spend an afternoon together, creating their unique masterpieces.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Making Victorian salt dough
   
   Mix together 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, and ½ cup water. Knead the mixture, slowly adding more water until the dough has a firm consistency. Place the salt dough on the countertop and knead it for 10 minutes. Then put it in an airtight container with a lid and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

2. Launching the young artists
   
   Cover a table with vinyl, or give each artist a piece of waxed paper or a plate on which to work, and sprinkle work surfaces with flour. Let each youngster choose what to make — it might be best to start out the youngest with small cookie cutters, such as a star, a bell, a candy cane or a wreath — and mete out appropriately sized portions of dough. Each child using a cookie cutter should roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch.

3. To make hanging ornaments, each can press a hairpin, large paper clip, loop of craft wire, or both ends of a piece of yarn or string into the dough at the center top of the ornament, or poke a hole with a straw or pencil. Place each creation on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 250 degrees until completely hard and dry, about an hour. Remove to rack and allow to completely cool.

4. Adding finishing touches
   
   When the pieces are cool, smooth any rough edges with fine sandpaper or an emery board until smooth. Then, having donned their paint shirts, let the kids paint their masterpieces with acrylic or poster paint. Allow paint to dry thoroughly.
   
   When dry, place the ornaments on foil or waxed paper and spray with clear polyurethane. Voila! An heirloom.

5. Finally, a holiday gift for you
   
   How to make a braided wreath ornament:
   Hand-roll small pieces of dough into three ropes, each about 6 inches long and ¼ inch in diameter. Moisten one end of each rope and pinch all three together; braid loosely as if working with hair. Moisten remaining ends and pinch together to seal braid. Moisten each end of braid and carefully curve to form wreath; pinch to seal ends together. Insert loop for hanging. Decorate with holly leaves, berries, or bow made from dough. Bake as previously described, paint as desired, let dry completely, and add clear finish.

Tips & Warnings

• Helpful tips
• •Keep any dough not being used tightly covered or wrapped in plastic wrap or aluminum foil in the refrigerator so it doesn’t dry out.
• •There’s no need to make all the ornaments at one time. The dough will stay pliable in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
• •Remind your artists to paint the sides and backs of ornaments. They may also want to add their initials or first name and the year on the back.
• •If dough becomes too dry for small and deliberate fingers to work with, simply discard it and start fresh.
• Older children can add complexity to their creations by:
• •Adding food coloring to their dough, kneading it well so the color is completely blended in
• •Rolling dough into ropes for outlining, braiding, or making initials
• •Molding dough into shapes, e.g., a candy cane, tree, or snowman, no more than 1/2 inch thick
• • Cutting around patterns

[iamageniuster]

on 10/22/2008 Excellent tips. 5 stars! Thanks for the great article.