Cinnamon Clay Holiday Ornament

A Christmas tradition I started with Mason on his very first Christmas was making a homemade holiday ornament.  I just love looking back over the last two years of ornaments that are decorating our tree! Plus, these ornaments make adorable gifts to aunts, uncles, and grandparents from their favorite little one.  Yesterday, Mason and I continued this tradition by making Cinnamon Clay Ornaments.

Cinnamon Clay You Can Make - Perfect for Ornaments!
Yields: About 24 ornaments, depending on how thick you roll the dough

Materials:

• 1 /4 cup white glue
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 3 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/4 cup water

Directions:

1. Mix ingredients together until dough forms a ball.
2. Knead for a few minutes, adding flour as needed.

     3.   Make into desired shapes or roll out and cut with cookie cutters.
     4.   Poke a hole at the top of the ornaments with a toothpick so you can
           hang them later.

     5.   Bake at 300 degrees for 7-10 minutes.

These ornaments turned out great.  They were so easy and nicely kept their shape while baking.  They also smell amazing!  I think you could substitute some cloves or nutmeg for some of the cinnamon to suit the fragrance you want to create. 

After I baked some on the cookie sheet, I decided to make a few more and let them air dry.  From the pictures below, you can see the difference between the baked and air-dried ornaments.  The baking process brought out the flour on the ornament.  The air-dried ornament retained more of a brownish color.  I think either option look great, depending on the look you are trying to achieve.

I am going to let the ornaments for for an additional day or two, then make a little glue-water mixture to coat the ornaments and then sprinkle them with some iridescent glitter to a different effect.  There are so many possibilities for these ornaments, from painting to glitter.  Experiment and have fun!