|
|
Christmas Cookie Cutter Ornaments
Here are two recipes for making decorations out of dough.
You will need:
- 1 cup Corn Starch
- 2 cups baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups water
 In a large saucepan mix corn starch and baking soda. Add water and stir until smooth. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is the consistency of slightly dry mashed potatoes. Remove from heat and cover with a damp cloth. When cool enough to handle, coat hands and surface lightly with corn starch and knead until dough is smooth and pliable.
Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut with holiday cookie cutters. To dry, place on a baking sheet in a 250 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until hard. For best results, allow to cool and brush loose powder off ornaments before painting. Makes about 16-20 ornaments.
Baker's Clay
Ingredients:
- 4 cups flour
- 1 cup salt
- 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cup water
Mix together and knead until smooth. Add food coloring if desired. Make shapes and bake at 300 degrees until set and golden (1/2 hr to 1 hr). For a more golden appearance, paint with a beaten egg when it is almost done baking and looks dry. You can paint with egg twice or three times for a darker golden color. Don't use egg on colored dough. For colored dough, paint with shallac or laquer after baking. If cracks appear, patch with some slightly moister dough and continue baking.
Making decorations with Baker's Clay is limited only by your imagination. It's just like working with clay!
- Make shapes.
Two of the easiest decorations for kids to make are the snowman and the teddy bear:
Snowman - roll three balls ranging in size from small to large. Attach head to belly by "scoring" lightly (make very small scratches in surface of clay) and brushing with water, then press the two pieces together gently. Attach belly to bottom in the same way. Teddy Bear - roll two balls, one small and one medium. Attach as above. Roll four small cylandar shapes with flattened ends for the arms and legs. Attach to body as above. For the ears, pinch the top of head with thumbnail.
- Wire hook - Use needlenose pliers to bend the end of a 2" piece of wire. Insert straight end of wire into the top of your shape, leaving the hook and about 1/4" showing at top.
- Bake - Place shapes gently on cookie sheet. Bake at 300° until set and slightly golden.
- Paint with a beaten egg when almost done baking for a golden look.
- For colored decorations - use food coloring in the dough. (Don't use beaten egg on colored dough.) OR, simply paint with acrylic after baking and cooling, then use shellac to seal. You can also shellac a plain ornament, and then spray with gold or silver spray paint for a sparkling appearance.
If properly sealed with shellac, your ornaments should last for years. Be sure to store in a dry place.
Use Baker's Clay to sculpt unique jar lids!
This is a unique way to decorate jars containing your own preserves, candy, nuts, potpourri or other "gifts in a jar".
Roll out dough about 1/4 inch thick. Place jar lid on dough and cut out a circle about 1 inch wider than the lid. Gently shape dough over the lid. For the excess dough around the edges, pinch dough between your thumb and forefinger all the way around the lid to form a kind of scallop.
 If you want more of a solid edge, take a sharp knife and very gently cut the dough from the top of the lid to the bottom of the dough. Take one side of the cut and fold over the other. Seal by painting with water and pressing edges together.
You can make interesting fruit or flower decorations for your jar lids, forming them and attaching to lid before baking, or baking them separately and attaching to finished lids with glue.
Bake at 300°, lid and all, for 1/2 hour to 1 hour, until dough is golden and dry but not brittle. Paint with beaten egg for a more golden-bread appearance. Or, if you want colored lids, wait until lids have cooled, and then paint with acrylic. Shellac or varnish to seal.
Make Walnut Mice to Race
Take half a walnut shell and place flat side down. Take two pistachio nut shell halves and glue them, pointy standing up, near the pointed end of the walnut half for ears. Glue on two of those tiny googly eyes, a pipe cleaner tail and some whiskers made of fishing line and put a black dot at the very pointed end of the walnut shell and you have a little mouse. These can be used as ornaments, or glued to packages just for fun. And you can use the nutmeats for candy making, another of my Christmas passions.
If you place a marble in the hole at the bottom of the mouse and glue a piece of fabric (not felt) over the bottom (trim the fabric when the glue dries) you can race your mice. Place them on a table and flick them with your fingers. They will roll across the table.
|
| |
|
 |
Lladro 2005 Christmas Bell Ornament Cantata!
The Lladro 2005 Christmas Bell Cantata Ornament is a great gift idea to commemorate the passing year and will offer wonderful memories for years to come. The Lladro collectionof Christmas tree ornaments in classic designs are always a perfect way to begin a new family tradition. The elegant design and soft pearl background will blend with almost any Christmas decorating theme. Celebrate the holidays this season with the Lladro 2005 Christmas Bell Ornament Cantana. |
 |
Nigella Lawson's Living Kitchen Entertainment Set!
Nigella Lawson's new set of bowls with matching platter offer great versatility for dips, snacks and starters. Nigella Lawson talks about her new entertainment set. "I never do appetizers now - just a hearty supper with good things to pick at over drinks first. This set allows you to offer peanuts, potato chips, olives, cubes of marinaded cheese and whatever you desire, and the bowl-indentations on the platter mean that even if you trip in your kitten heels while serving, you won't tip things over!" |
 |
Back to Basics Cocoa-Latte Hot Drink Maker!
Bring the café experience home this Christmas with the Back to Basics Cocoa Latte Hot Drink Maker. Automatically heat, whip, and mix instant cocoa, coffee, and tea into frothy, cafe-style drinks. The auto shut-off ensures that drinks won't be overheated. The 32-ounce container, with a twist and lock lid and non-stick heating element, is safe and easy to clean. The Back to Basics Cocoa Latte Hot Drink Maker includes 35 delicious hot drink recipes and in brushed chrome, this piece offers a clean look for the kitchen.
|
Terms and Conditions
No purchase necessary to win. A winner will be chosen from each entry category. Entries must contain your full contact information as requested. Upon the deadline, entries will be randomly chosen. Decisions are final and binding. Entry constitutes permission to have your name and/or submission announced to our mailing list subscribers and also posted here at GivingGallery.com. Winners will be notified within 24 hours of the drawings/judging at the e-mail address provided upon entering the contest. Odds of winning depend on number of entries received. Any winner notification returned as undeliverable will result in the awarding of that prize to an alternate winner. One entry per household per week. In the case of multiple entries, only the first entry will be accepted. In the event of a dispute over the identity of an online entrant, entry will be deemed submitted by the holder of the e-mail account. All Gift Certificates will be sent via e-mail and winner will be able to redeem online via "claim/certificate code".
|
| |
