*2Flower* To You

...especially in my house. I

...especially in my house. I have a little salt dough nativity set I made several years ago that I put out for Christmas every year. Well, the wise men have been on several adventures -- just the wise men, and none of the other figures even though they are the same size. Ironic, huh? Every night they disappear. I was finally able to round them up today so I can put them away. I suspect it must be cats. ;)

I'm thinking about making some more nativity sets to sell at my mom's craft mall booth for next year. Too bad I can't post a pic of them, but I killed my digital camera the other day. :( You'll just have to imagine the cuteness.

If you like the idea of making salt dough ornaments/nativity figures for next Christmas or whenever, here is the recipe I've used for years:

SALT DOUGH RECIPE:
2 cups of plain flour
1 cup of table salt
1 cup of water

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl and stir in the water. Knead the dough and shape. If you are making an ornament, you can stick a loop of wire into the ornament before baking. Bake on a foil-covered cookie sheet at a temp below 200 degrees F for 3 to 4 hours (or however long it takes)

Tips:

• Use the dough within 24 hours, because after that it begins to take on a life of its own -- it will rise when you bake it, which will usually ruin your project.
  
• To avoid projects that crack, don't make anything that is more than about 1/2" thick. If you want to make something thicker, you can add onto an existing project once it's baked, and bake on the new parts. This method also works for repairs.
  
• Another way to make a project that is thicker is to shape it around foil, which cooks the project from the inside.
  
• A garlic press makes great hair out of the dough.
  
• I paint my figures with watercolor paints.
  
• You can use polyurethane to coat your finished projects.
  
• For young children, a good way for them to get something out of the project that doesn't look like warty blob, is to roll out the dough and use cookie cutters to cut shapes. You could add color to the dough, or you could let them paint the ornaments after they're baked.
  

For more tips, you might try this site.

Posted by 2Flower at January 5, 2004 09:43 PM | TrackBack