Salt Dough Ornaments

What better way to trim your farm-fresh Christmas tree than with homemade ornaments! Kids will enjoy seeing their fun creation hanging on the tree for years to come. Here’s a simple ornament made from common household ingredients! 

You’ll need: 

Dough
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup salt
1 ½ cups warm water

Tools
Parchment paper
Rolling pin
Cookie cutters
Baking sheet

Decor
Forks, stamps, lace, or anything else to make a pattern
Straw or toothpick (to poke a hole to hang the ornament)
Baking sheet
Paint, glitter, etc.
Mod Podge or Polyurethane spray (for sealing/preserving)
Ribbon or twine for hanging ornament

To Make:

Mix flour and salt in a large bowl until well combined. Slowly stream in warm water while stirring. Keep stirring until all water has been added. 

When it gets to a point where the dough is too thick to stir with a spoon, put it on a lightly floured surface and knead until it’s smooth and pliable.

Put the dough down on a sheet of parchment paper and cover with another sheet of parchment paper. Roll until about 1/8 “ thick (reduces likelihood of air pockets and future breakage). 

Remove the top sheet of parchment paper and, keeping dough on top of the bottom layer of parchment paper, use cookie cutters to cut out ornament shapes.  

Once all shapes have been cut, peel away all the excess dough, leaving shapes on the parchment paper. Use a straw or toothpick to poke a hole where the ornaments will hang. If you’re going to add texture elements to your ornaments, now’s the time to do it.

Move your ornaments and parchment paper onto a baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees for an hour. Allow to cool thoroughly before decorating. 

After you’ve decorated your ornaments, paint with a layer of Mod Podge or spray with Polyurethane to preserve.

Visit us on Pinterest for more festive DIY ideas!

Fall Mum Care

Fall Mum Care

Fall is the time for mums to show off their blooms! We offer several lovely colors to perfect for adding fall flair to your front porch. Here are a few tips for keeping your mums healthy throughout the season!

Water
Mums do well with continually moist (not soggy) soil. As long as they feel moist to the touch, you’re good to go.

Light
Unlike mums planted in a spring garden that need 6 hours of sunlight, fall potted mums need bright but indirect light. Keep them a few feet back from a south-facing window or anywhere in a bright location without direct sun. Mums begin to bloom in the fall when the nights are longer. To help them maintain their bloom cycle, keep plants away from street lamps (if outdoors) and close the curtains if they are near a window with bright lights outside.

Comfy Temperatures
Container mums like cooler temps, from 60 to 65 degrees, during the night. If you like to keep your home toasty at night, plants can be moved into a cooler space like a basement or garage. Be sure to move your outdoor potted mums indoors if an early frost is anticipated.

Pinching
Pinching the tips of mums to encourage bushy growth and blossoms is only necessary if you happen to have container mums during the summer before blooming begins. In that case, pinch off the tips of all new stems when they are 6 to 8 inches tall, but stop pinching by the end of June for fall blooming. If you plan to keep your mums only for the fall season, pinching isn’t necessary.

Come on out this fall and pick up some flowers and pumpkins for your seasonal decor!