One of the items on our Christmas bucket list was to make ornaments. In years past we have gone the salt dough route, but when heard about baking soda ornaments I knew I had to give it a try. I was a little worried at first with how they would dry, but they ended up turning out OK in th end.
First off you need to make the dough. This is the recipe I used (it’s from the Arm and Hammer webiste).
Combine ingredients
The first thing you need to do is combine the ingredients in a pot on the stove. It’ll be very watery.
Cook over medium heat
Cook until it starts to form a dough. Don’t cook it too long, as the dough will start to dry out. I think I may have cooked it a little to long, as the dough was just a little dry.
Use hands to mix, then roll out
Use your hands to form dough into a ball (you may need to let it cool a little. If you do, cover it with a wet washcloth to prevent from drying out more). Then roll your dough out. I rolled it out to about a 1/4″ thickness.
Use cookie cutters to cut out baking soda ornaments
Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Be sure to poke a hole where you want your string to be.
Let them dry a little, then paint
Let the ornament dry a little, then paint them. Allow them to dry on a cooling rack overnight. If you leave them on a solid surface they won’t harden up all the way. They need to have airflow all around.
Put strings on your baking soda ornaments
Put strings on, and hang them up, or give them as gifts.
Like I said before I think I may have cooked the dough slightly to long. When I rolled it out some parts of it were cracking, and as they dried some of the ornaments developed a few cracks. But, after painting them, it was hard to tell. I also wish I would have thought of adding peppermint oil to these baking soda ornaments. I think that would make them smell so nice!
Do you and your family make ornaments? Or if you don’t celebrate Christmas, is there a special craft you like to make for a holiday you celebrate?