Salt dough ornaments!

First, forgive the sporadic posting lately, and the lack of pictures in this post.  My Macbook crashed (I know.. I know.. they aren't supposed to do that!), and we're waiting till after Christmas to replace it.  So, more regular posting should resume then, but for now, here's how we made salt dough ornaments yesterday!

I used my stand mixer to make these easier, but make sure to wash the bowl right away - salt dough is rough to get off once it dries, and it dries fast!

In the stand mixer, combine:
1/2 c table salt
1/2 c water
1 c all purpose flour

Let it mix until a sticky dough forms.  I use floured wax paper on the counter, then knead the sticky dough for about 5 minutes - you will feel it become more elastic as you knead it.

At this point, I divided the dough into three pieces.  Each of the  kids had a piece of floured wax paper, some small cookie cutters, and a straw.  They (quickly) rolled their dough - keep an eye on them to make sure they get it to between 1/2 and 1/4 of an inch.  Then they cut the dough with their cutters.  I put all the cut ornaments onto a cookie pan, and helped the kids use their straws to poke holes.

At this point, the dough goes into the oven on it's lowest temperature setting (mine goes to 200) overnight (or for at least 6-7 hours).  Once the ornaments cool, they can be painted or drawn on.  Use pretty ribbon or string in the holes to hang the ornaments onto the tree.