Last month, Eva and I made some super-cute/kid-friendly ornaments to give to my mom for her birthday, and I was all set to share them with you...except when I looked through the pictures I took of the process, they were all TERRIBLE! Rather than subject you to blurrier-than-usual photography, I decided to just scrap the post I had written.
Until! Yesterday, Eva and I decided to make some more to use as present toppers. So this time I took waaay too many pictures in an effort to re-attempt sharing this project with you all. And lucky you! Most of them were passable (not TOO blurry). So today I bring you... Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments!
This turned out to be a great project for me and Eva to do together--she loved it the first time, and came running when I asked if she wanted to make them again. That's a good sign right there.
The ingredient list is insanely simple:
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup cinnamon
1 Tbsp Elmer's Glue
(Or any amount of applesauce and cinnamon, actually, so long as you use equal amounts.)
Dump all that stuff in a bowl and mix it together until it's a dough. The first time we made these, I measured and set out the ingredients and Eva dumped them in the bowl and mixed it all together with her hands. The second time, I mixed the dough with a spoon before I called her to the table (trying to simplify things), and she was just as happy with the project--tailor this step to your own tastes/mess tolerance.
The dough makes a fun play dough and doesn't suffer from lots of kneading, so let your kid (or yourself) play for a bit if they're so inclined. This was Eva's favorite part--yesterday it kept her busy for a good twenty minutes before we moved on.
Next, roll or pat the dough out until it's 1/3-1/2 inch thick.--we do this right on our table. Use cookie cutters to cut out some shapes, re-rolling the scraps as many times as you like. Set the cut shapes on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Punch a hole to string a ribbon through for hanging (we used a straw.)
At this point, you can either let them sit out for a LONG time (24+ hours), flipping them over often so both sides get dry, or you can bake them at 200 degrees until they're hard. I baked yesterday's batch, and I highly recommend it because it makes your house smell wonderful!
When they're dry, string them on ribbon or something, and you're done!
(Another cute idea, if you want them to look like gingerbread, is to pipe white puffy paint around the edges before you string them to look like frosting.)
All that's left is to hang your yummy-smelling ornaments on your tree or some other place that needs a little cheer. Enjoy!
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