• Home
  • Get Started!
  • Speaking
  • Blog
    • Cleaning
    • decluttering
    • organization
    • All posts
  • Podcast
  • Books
    • Jesus Doesn't Care About Your Messy House
      • Get a Discussion Guide
    • Organizing for the Rest of Us
    • Decluttering at the Speed of Life
    • How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind
  • Video
  • Shortcut Solutions
    • 14 Days to Opening Your Front Door to Guests e-book
    • Make Dinner Happen
    • The 5 Day Clutter Shakedown Video Course
    • Printable Checklists E-Book from A Slob Comes Clean
    • Teaching Kids to Clean e-book
    • Giving God the Worst of Me - free e-book
    • My Book Publishing Journey
    • Take Your House Back
  • Decluttering Coaches

Dana K. White

A SLOB COMES CLEAN

Reality-Based Cleaning, Decluttering, & Organizing

 

  • About
  • Contact
  • TV & Media

  • Home
  • Get Started!
  • Speaking
  • Blog
    • Cleaning
    • decluttering
    • organization
    • All posts
  • Podcast
  • Books
    • Jesus Doesn't Care About Your Messy House
      • Get a Discussion Guide
    • Organizing for the Rest of Us
    • Decluttering at the Speed of Life
    • How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind
  • Video
  • Shortcut Solutions
    • 14 Days to Opening Your Front Door to Guests e-book
    • Make Dinner Happen
    • The 5 Day Clutter Shakedown Video Course
    • Printable Checklists E-Book from A Slob Comes Clean
    • Teaching Kids to Clean e-book
    • Giving God the Worst of Me - free e-book
    • My Book Publishing Journey
    • Take Your House Back
  • Decluttering Coaches
Videos
Blog
Podcast
Products & Courses
Books
About
Decluttering Coaches

Personalized Ornaments – Fun and Easy

December 11, 2009 By Dana White | 15 Comments

  • 508shares
  • 414
  • 0
  • 94


I love these. I generally don’t consider myself a crafty person, but these make me feel crafty.

I learned how to make them about 5 years ago, and now it’s a definite tradition. I know that many families give an ornament to each child every year. These have become our version of that, and they cost truly pennies apiece! The kids can’t wait to see how they’ll be portrayed in their ornament. Sometimes, I even let them choose.
Basically this craft is like playing with play-dough. You make a recipe of salt dough. I use this one (but you can use any of the millions on the net):

Ingredients:2 cups flour

1 cup salt

1 cup water

Directions:

1. Mix salt and flour.

2. Add in half the water, then gradually add the remaining water.

3. Knead until the dough is smooth, this can take up to 10 minutes.

4. Place dough in a Ziploc bag with the air squeezed out, or wrap it tightly in saran wrap until you’re ready to use it.

I like to make mine with my stand mixer. I let it do the kneading for me, which keeps my hands from drying out quite as much from the salt that’s in it.
Once you have the dough, just start playing, creating it directly on a cookie sheet. Make the body, using a wet fingertip to “glue” the body parts together. If you find that your dough is too sticky, add a tiny bit of flour, just as you would if forming yeast rolls.
To make the dough colored, it probably works best to use the Wilton gels, but I’ve also used liquid food coloring when I needed a certain color. Dab a little food coloring onto a ball of dough using a toothpick or a fork. Then just roll it until it is worked evenly through the dough.

At first it will look like this, but if you keep rolling, it will eventually look even.

Helpful hint: Don’t do this on the day you’re supposed to play Mary at church, unless you think Mary should have blue hands.

You can choose whether or not you want to make the body, and then lay the clothes on top of it, or color the body itself to cut out a step. I’ve done it both ways. I like the look of the clothes and body being separate. This back view shows the difference.

Then decide on something that would identify your child for the past year. These three are ones I have made for my oldest son. The one on the left is from the first year I did this. He was three and loved to play football. In the middle was the year he was particularly obsessed with boxing (it’s my favorite). The last one is last year, the year he started reading chapter books. He was reading Magic Tree House books like crazy. It kind of looks like a carrot on the cover of his book, but it’s a tree. I promise.

On the left is the first one I made of my second son, when he was just over a year old. He’s eating cookies. The next one was the year that he had a cowboy-themed birthday party. The others are an artist and a builder, both of which could define him any year.

For girls, I use a garlic press to make the hair. I usually leave the boys bald.

This year, my kindergartner wanted his to have a backpack and a pencil since it’s his first year of school.

The great thing about this is that the kids can make their own while you’re doing it. You could roll the dough out and let them use cookie cutters, or they could just make their own versions of what you’re doing. My 6yo wanted to make a snowman, but my 7yo wanted to make his own ornament of “him” this year, wearing his cub scout uniform.

This is my husband. I made him the first year, but now I generally just do the kids. He’s in camo with a bow-and-arrow. The lady who taught me to do this said that she made an ornament of her daughter-in-law the year she was pregnant! So cute!

When they’re done, cut off the top of a paperclip with wire-cutters, and stick it in the top of their head, and bake them for 1-2 hours at 225. They’re done when they easily come off with an egg-turner. If they’re still sticking, they’re probably not done yet. Keep an eye on them, as I have burned them before. Believe me, there’s a lot of guilt involved when you overcook your children.

After they’re cooled, spray them with clear varnish, the shinier the better.

For the cost of flour, salt, and food coloring (most of which you already have) you can have a set of incredibly meaningful ornaments. As I said before, I am generally not a crafty person, but I love to see my kids faces when they see their ornament for the year. They beam when they figure out what thing I’ve decided on to show their personality.

Doesn’t everyone feel good when they’re noticed?

Check out lots of great Under 10$ gift ideas at Frugal Friday.

 

Save

Related Posts:

Read Newer Post Will I Always Have this Struggle?
Read Older Post I Live for Compliments

Filed Under: fun with the kids | 15 Comments

Comments

  1. Mom2fur says

    December 11, 2009 at 7:24 pm

    How cute are those? What a great and fun way to make ornaments that really mean something!

    Reply
  2. Jes says

    December 11, 2009 at 7:46 pm

    Oh those are too cute! My kids would have a blast doing those!

    Reply
  3. Lenetta @ Nettacow says

    December 13, 2009 at 3:44 am

    Thanks for linking up to Frugal Friday – I love these, and I have really enjoyed clicking around your blog! (That is, until a glass of water got spilled on my laptop. Because, um, the kitchen table was too cluttered. Here's hoping it dries out so I can come back soon!) I linked to your post on my weekly roundup – thanks so much!

    Reply
  4. Angie @ The Shabby Chic Cottage says

    December 16, 2009 at 5:41 pm

    This is such a great idea — and you did a great job on yours.

    Reply
  5. Jodi Trevino says

    January 6, 2012 at 12:42 pm

    HI!! I just found your blog via Pinterest, and I’m diligently reading through from beginning to end…. You are inspiring with your honesty, and persistence… I just had to comment on this post because of your comment about the guilt associated with overcooking your children. I literally LAUGHED OUT LOUD. Can’t wait to keep reading to see what you accomplish. 🙂

    Reply
    • Nony says

      January 6, 2012 at 12:50 pm

      Hee hee. Your comment made me go back and read this post!

      Thanks!!

      Reply
  6. Krystal D says

    August 23, 2012 at 10:44 pm

    hehe… I am sitting here at almost 11 at night laughing about your comment…”Believe me, there’s a lot of guilt involved when you overcook your children.”… omgosh soo funny…. and thank you for this awesome idea… I have play-doh that I made with my girls a while back (edible kool-aid playdoh) (1 year olds eat ANYTHING)…lol…. and this will be a fun activity for them to help me with… they are wayyy more crafty than me….

    Reply
  7. Charity says

    July 20, 2013 at 9:26 pm

    This is such a cute idea! Every Christmas, I think about how neat it would be to have some kind of meaningful ornaments for the kids. I just may have found it!

    Reply
  8. Liz says

    December 6, 2013 at 9:18 am

    I love this! I’m going to do this with my boys. Such a great idea! Thanks!

    Reply
  9. celina says

    December 6, 2013 at 9:45 am

    this was on wfmw at one point and that is how I found you…read the whole thing from start to finish after that…

    Reply
    • Dana White says

      December 6, 2013 at 10:47 am

      Love it!

      Reply
  10. celina boulanger says

    October 9, 2014 at 1:52 pm

    me again..lol…..so do you still make these??

    Reply
    • Dana White says

      October 9, 2014 at 1:54 pm

      We didn’t for a few years, but did last year! So fun! And the kids are old enough now to really make some fun things on their own.

      Reply
  11. Elizabeth says

    October 16, 2014 at 1:33 pm

    “Believe me, there’s a lot of guilt involved when you overcook your children.” I just had to tell you that my office mates just didn’t get why I was giggling so hard at that line…

    Thanks… 🙂

    Reply
  12. Heather says

    November 21, 2019 at 5:55 pm

    Love this!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Want solutions to your biggest decluttering problems?

Get my newsletter and we'll start by teaching you how to declutter without making a bigger mess.
* = required field

Popular Posts

Why-I-Have-To-Run-My-Dishwasher-Every-Single-Night-at-ASlobComesClean.com sidebar
Five Truths about a Clean Kitchen even without a dishwasher at ASlobComesClean.com sidebar
How to Clean a Messy House at ASlobComesClean.com sidebar

Topics:

blogcast Cleaning daily checklist decluttering failures figuring myself out kitchen laundry Menu Plan Monday organization parenting podcasts progress random stories reader stories recipes sponsored posts Uncategorized

  • PR/Advertising
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Website Terms and Conditions
Search

  • About
  • Contact
  • TV & Media

© Dana K. White | Site by Little Leaf Design