Cinnamon Cut-Out Ornaments
These cinnamon creations not only look nice, but they also smell great! Bring the heavenly aroma of baking cookies to your home by making these decorative cinnamon ornaments.
Holiday Hassles
Cinnamon cut-outs take time to dry. You can bake them in a 250°F oven to speed up the process, but be sure not to overbake them or to bake them at too high a temperature, or they'll crack. Cut-outs take one to two days to air dry. You might want to sand any rough edges with a piece of fine-grain sandpaper before painting them. A layer of varnish will protect your creations over the years.
Level: Moderately easy
Time involved: Two to three hours, plus one to two days to dry
Ingredients:
- Mixing bowl
- Spoon
- 1 cup ground cinnamon
- 2/3 cup applesauce
- 1 tablespoon white glue
- Rolling pin
- Cookie cutters
- Cookie sheets
- Paintbrush or skewer
- Fabric paints in squeeze bottles
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Mix the cinnamon, applesauce, and glue in a bowl until they form stiff dough. If the mixture is too thin, add cinnamon; if too dry, add applesauce.
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Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch on a surface lightly sprinkled with cinnamon. Cut shapes out of the dough using Christmas cookie cutters. Place the cinnamon shapes on a cookie sheet and make a hole in the top using the sharp end of a paintbrush or a skewer. Allow the cut-outs to dry for 24 to 48 hours, or bake them in a 250°F oven until hard. You could also make these ornaments free-form.
Decorate the ornaments with fabric paints in squeeze bottles.
Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Holiday Crafts © 2002 by Marilee LeBon. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
To order this book visit the Idiot's Guide web site or call 1-800-253-6476.
