If you are looking for a fun and easy (and amazing smelling!) craft to do with your family, this might just be it! All you need are 2 ingredients, a few cookie cutters, a straw, a little ribbon and some rubber gloves.
I did this with a group of friends yesterday. We made A LOT of ornaments. You might not want this much, so just divide the recipe to make how ever many you would like. This particular recipe will make around 35 ornaments.
Ingredients/Supplies:
1 16-oz. container of cinnamon (We got ours at a restaurant supply store.)
2 cups applesauce
Colorful Ribbon
Rubber gloves
Straws (to make the holes)
Instructions:
Pour the 16 oz. container of cinnamon in a fairly large bowl. Add the 2 cups of applesauce.
Mix the cinnamon and applesauce together with your hands until the mixture is doughy. (Helpful Hint: Use rubber gloves or you’ll be digging cinnamon out of your fingernails for weeks.)
Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough on a flat surface. Spread some cinnamon on the surface to keep dough from sticking. Do not use flour, it will discolor your ornaments and will get eventually create mold. You don’t want that!
Create cut-outs using your cookie cutters.
Spread the ornaments on a large pan to dry. These do not have to be baked. If you let them sit for a few days (and flip them a couple of times each day), they will harden on their own. I have also found instructions where you can bake them in an oven at 200 degrees for an hour or so, if you’d like them to be done sooner. You will also want to flip those a couple of times if you choose the baking route. They edges will tend to curl if you don’t flip them.
Once your ornaments are complete, finish them off by tying ribbons through the holes and hanging them on your tree! You could also give them away as gifts or tie them on gifts as an extra touch.
Looking for an inexpensive, fun and easy holiday gift to give? This is the gift that keeps on giving! It’s a Hot Cocoa filled Christmas ornament. Your gift recipient can hang the ornament on their tree, then when the Hot Cocoa craving kicks in, Voila! There’s some hot cocoa to drink. Just dump the contents into a cup of boiling water and it’s an instant chocolate treat.
And it’s really easy and did I mention, inexpensive?
Supplies:
Clear, empty ornaments. (I picked up a few plastic ones from AC Moore.)
Candy canes for crushing
Hot Cocoa Mix
Mini Marshmallows
Ribbon for bows
Instructions:
Open the clear ornaments. Use a funnel to pour the hot cocoa mix into the ornaments. I used 3 packets to get the level I wanted. Crush a candy cane and pour that into the ornament. Fill the remaining space with mini marshmallows. Replace the top of the ornament, tie a bow on the top, and you’re done! Each ornament cost about $1.25 to make. They’re adorable and thoughtful and your gift recipients will love them!
What child doesn’t like an afternoon playing with play dough? And what parent doesn’t enjoy saving a little money? Here’s a sure bet to bring a smile to everyone’s face; make your own play dough! Here are the easy instructions for unlimited and inexpensive fun!
Ingredients
1/2 cup of salt
1 cup of plain flour
2 tablespoons of cream of tartar
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon oil
food coloring
Instructions
1. Split the ingredients into two bowls and stir. Make sure it is combined well.
2. Place one of the bowls into a saucepan over a medium heat and add your food coloring. Stir well. A chemical reaction happens all of a sudden and then your gloppy mess will become quite sticky, then clumpy.
3. Ball up the mixture into Play Dough.
4. Repeat with remaining mixture and add different color.
5. Give to your children and let them use their imagination to create wonderful memories! Feel free to join in the fun.
