Homemade Christmas Ornaments/Recipe for Salt Dough Ornaments

   All of last week, I was chomping at the bit at work for the weekend. I couldn't wait to be home with my family! I had big plans to make homemade Christmas ornaments all weekend with my child and I wanted to get started ASAP!

   I couldn't be more pleased with the way that they turned out! Just like cards, ornaments are more special to me when I know little hands have worked hard on creating them. All I see is the beauty and goodness in something when I know it comes from a place of love!

   Anyhow, if you have any questions about the way that any of these are made, please comment your question on either the Blogger website or my Facebook page. They're very easy and pretty self-explanatory. The most important item you will need for all of them is a GLUE GUN. If you are a mom and you don't own a glue gun, you need to run to the store right now (Michael's, Jo-Ann's, Hobby Lobby, etc.) and buy yourself one! You won't regret it! The glue gun has a been a life saver for me, not only for crafts but for many other magical mom tricks such as: fixing toys, patching holes so that ants don't get into your house, fixing the soles of shoes, its uses are endless! I also used a lot of popsicle sticks. These are good to have around the house too! If you are curious about what craft supplies might be handy to have at home, please refer to my older post on Art at Home. 

 
   Another fun Christmas activity to do with your kids is making salt dough ornaments. I'm not sure how long lasting they are, but they are fun to make and decorate. If you HAVE to throw them out, at least you'll know that you didn't spend a lot of them AND you can have fun making them again next year! I've seen lots of variations of this recipe, but here's the recipe that I followed.

Salt Dough Ornaments

You will need:

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
3/4 cup warm water
Cookie cutters
Straw
Cooking spray
Paint, glitter, etc. to decorate
String

1. Preheat over to 225 degrees.
2. Mix flour and salt. Add water. Knead until soft (if dry, add more water).

3. Roll dough on floured surface to 1/4-inch thick. 

Cut with cutters. Add hole at top with straw. Put shapes on sprayed cookie sheet and bake 2 to 4 hours until hard, flipping every 45 minutes.

 4. Let cool completely. Decorate. Tie ribbon through hole.

To see my recipe for Cinnamon Cut Out Ornaments, click here.

Sources of inspiration:  http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/tori-spellings-kid-friendly-holiday-entertaining-tips-2012512, http://www.misseberhartsclass.com/christmas_ornaments.htm, http://www.thecraftycrow.net/2008/12/popsicle-stic-2.html.

How To Remove a Pesky Price Sticker

   The other day I purchased a few Christmas cookie tins with huge price stickers on the bottom. As I started to attempt to peel one off, the sticker kept ripping into little sections, making it very difficult for me to remove it. I could see that these stickers were not going to come off without a fight! Another problem I was having was when and if I was able to remove the sticker, it would leave behind a sticky residue on the tin. I had to figure out a way to get these stickers off! Sure, I could have soaked all of the tins in water, but who has time for that? I needed another fast solution. After searching the Internet for all of the possible liquids I could rub on it (Seriously, who has lighter fluid handy? Vegetable oil sounds messy!) I came across a method that worked so beautifully, I just had to share it!

   I got out my good old hair dryer, blew it on the sticker for about 15 seconds, and the sticker came off without a problem, glue and all! That's it! How simple is that? I was thrilled! I saved myself so much time! Just be careful if you are doing this method with cookie tins like I did because those suckers can get hot! I love time-saving tips like this, don't you?

City Girl in the Valley (that is, the Pioneer Valley)

View from Mount Sugarloaf

A few words about my hometown...

Downtown Flint

As of 2011, Flint, Michigan was ranked the most dangerous city by the CQ press. Those rankings also showed Flint had the most crimes per capita, which include homicides, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults.

Despite its crime, danger, high unemployment rates, and horrible school system, Flint is my hometown and will always hold a special place in my heart.

That being said, I have found a new “home” here in Western Massachusetts. I love the history, culture, and liberal environment. It is inspiring!

Downtown Northampton

Part of me will always feel like a city girl stuck in the valley of some rolling hills, but I love my new home. Hopefully I will be able to capture the beauty and life I have found here in Western Massachusetts.