[HOW-TO] Homemade Clay Ornaments
When I was a kid, my mom used to do really fun and easy activities that would keep us busy for hours and hours.
One of my favorite things we did was make salt dough. Just a few ingredients and you can get play-dough like substance that would be so fun to play with.
Now that I have a bonus-kiddo, I'm always looking for fun stuff to do when we've got a few hours of nothing at home. So I thought it would be really fun to make some homemade ornaments from salt dough.
Now, I made some a few years ago for some friends during Christmas, but I found that the salt dough, when it air dries, has a yellow tint to it. And I wanted our ornaments to be nice and bright. So, I looked around Pinterest and it didn't take me long to find a good recipe.
If you're running out of time to get gifts, or you just want to make a one-of-a-kind gift for someone you love, try it. I used two batches of this recipe, which made about 25 ornaments for a whopping $3!!!
HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED:
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1 cup baking soda
- 3/4 cup water
- cookie cutters
HERE'S WHAT YOU DO:
- Mix the cornstarch, baking soda, and water in a pot. Place over medium heat and continue to stir until you get a mashed potatoes consistency.
- Move the clay to a mixing bowl and cover with a damp towel to cool (about 20 minutes). Once it's cool enough to handle, knead the clay mixture to get rid of air bubbles.
- Roll out the clay to about 1/4" thickness. Pick your favorite cookie cutters, and cut away! With this recipe you can get anywhere from 8-12 ornaments (depending on the size of your cutters.
- Lay out to air dry. It'll take about two days for the clay to fully cure with air drying. DON'T FORGET TO MAKE A HOLE if you want these as ornaments, they're pretty fragile once they're done, so you don't want to risk making the hole after they're dry.
- Decorate! Mine are still in the drying process, so I've yet to decorate. But this is where you can get really creative; use glitter, acrylic paint, even nail polish will work to make these super personalized.