Christmas is Coming




I love Christmas ! Everyone in the family says I get as excited as a small child about the coming of the holiday. My shopping is done, a few presents are wrapped and now its time to have some fun making decorations. Today was Cinnamon Dough ornament making day. I made "GingerBears" Gingerbears are so important to our family Christmas celebrations. If you look in the December 05 archives you will see a few posts about them with pictures about them.
and here is the link to the beginning of our Gingerbear Story

Cinnamon Dough Recipe
1 1/2 cups ground cinnamon
1 cup applesauce
1/4 cup white school glue (like Elmer's)
Bowl
Plastic food wrap
Rolling pin
Wax paper
Cookie cutters or a knife
Ribbon or yarn for hanging
Straw Mix cinnamon, applesauce, and glue together in a bowl.The dough should be as thick as cookie dough. Add a bit of water if the dough is too stiff.
Remove from bowl and knead. Put it back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for at least a half hour.
Remove the dough, knead again to make sure it's smooth. Flatten/roll the dough between waxed paper until it's between 1/4" thick and 1/8" thick.
Cut out desired shapes, use a straw to punch a hole for the ribbon to hang. The circle of dough will pull out with the straw.
Gently place the shapes on a piece of clean wax paper. They will take 3-5 days to dry, and you will need to turn them over a couple of times a day for them to dry evenly and flat.
Don't be surprised to see that the ornaments get smaller during the drying process. Keep this in mind when you pick out the cookie cutters for your designs. You will also notice that if you do not turn the ornaments over often enough while they are drying, the edges of the ornaments will curl.
When dry, thread a piece of ribbon or yarn through the hole to hang.

http://crafts.kaboose.com/cinnamon-dough-ornaments.html

Comments

Marianna said…
I love cinnamon dough ornaments. My children and I make a batch every year. The box that contains them is one of my favorites to open each year as it is so fragrant.
Teresa said…
I, too, have some cinnamon dough ornaments from our years in Cub Scouts. Our recipie was much simpler though, using equal amounts of cinnamon and applesauce (no glue). And I don't remember having any trouble with curling or having to turn as often. However, I imagine the glue will make the ornaments more durable over the years! We may just try it with the glue this year. It would be a great excuse to have more of these fragrant ornaments on our tree!

Using fabric paint with the pin-top dispenser (available in craft dept.) were great for decorating the fronts like cookies.
Elizabeth said…
This sounds like a great project! I have a 3 yo (almost 4 now, *gasp*) who would love this. :) Thanks for sharing this!
Annie said…
I just came across your blog from Hidden Haven Homestead, I love these ornaments and make them every year! I add them to gifts as tags and put them in gift baskets, decorate my tree and throughout the house! they smell wonderful!
Christmas would not be the same without them!
Sharon said…
My daughter and I made these a few Christmases ago and they sure smell good!
Susan said…
Hey, Patty ~

I am a cinnamon *fanatic* and, although I don't usually think of myself as a creative/crafty person, I think I'm going to give these a try - thanks so much!
nancyr said…
I'm glad I'm not the only one with Christmas on my mind, before Halloween. I have been making ornaments, and decorated a tiny, artificial "Charlie Brown" tree, for the mantle, today.
I love the cinnamon ornaments. Thanks for giving the recipe. I lost mine.
Grancy
Isn't it fun that cinnamon has become one of the fragrances of winter....? Patty, if you have never read any of them, it occurs to me you would enjoy the books by Della Thompson Lutes which came out in the late 30s and early 40s. Some are hard to find, but the first - The Country Kitchen - should be fairly easy. I am here in PA at my daughter Em's house enjoying both daughters and two grandchildren. What a joy!
Cathy said…
Those are adorable! It looks like something my kids would have a blast doing.
Cinnamon dough ornaments smell soooo good! I wish we had a big enough tree to hang some on. We'll have to think about that for next year...
Patricia said…
Oh Pat, Thanks for sharing this recipe! The girls are going to love it!
Patricia

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