Gather
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1-1⁄2 cups water
rolling pin
biscuit cutter
Christmas cookie cutters
drinking straw
acrylic paint
paintbrushes
old newspaper
spray-on clear varnish
ribbon
scissors
Go
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt and water. You may need to add flour or water to reach the consistency of salt dough.
3. Sprinkle extra flour on a clean surface. Knead dough several times with your hands.
4. Roll dough to 1⁄4-inch thickness. Cut out about 20 circles with biscuit cutter.
Tip: Can’t find a biscuit cutter? Find a round juice glass with a thin lip, turn it upside-down and cut away.
5. Gently press cookie cutter halfway into the circle, leaving an impression without going all the way through.
Tip: Can’t find any Christmas cookie cutters? Try making impressions in the dough using beads, toothpicks, rubber stamps, etc.
6. Poke a hole near the top of each circle with the straw.
7. Bake circles on a parchment- covered cookie sheet for 2 hours or until hard. Let cool.
Tip: If edges are rough after baking, gently smooth them with fine sandpaper.
8. Paint your ornaments one color at a time. Don’t forget to add a coat of paint to the backs of your ornaments to give them a more finished look.
Tip: Don’t stop after just one flat coat of paint! Make your ornaments more interesting by adding detail and shading with other colors of paint.
9. Once paint dries, place ornaments on newspaper in well-ventilated area. Spray on varnish to seal.
10. Thread a ribbon through the hole in the top of the ornament. Tie the ends together to form a loop.
11. Hang ornaments on your tree or give them to friends or family as gifts.
