Clay Christmas Ornaments
by Tawra Kellam

Description: How to make clay Christmas ornaments.
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I have a "holiday tree". I love the ambiance of a Christmas tree so I decided last year to have a small 3 ft. tree up all year and decorate it different each month. I have wanted to do this for years and finally just did it this year. I came up with this idea a long time ago before it was the in thing to do. Now I'm in style I guess. :-) I love it! I find little things to decorate it at the thrift store, garage sales or end of season clearance.

Well, even though I found some really cute small pumpkins and gourds and small leaves for my Sept. fall tree (which at 90+ degrees it hasn't even come close to feeling like fall). I couldn't find any Halloween decorations. I love Halloween but I don't get into the real gory, scary stuff. I decided to make my own today. I used the clay ornament recipe from Dining On A Dime and Not Just Beans.

Mom has some small pumpkin and ghost cookie cutters that she uses for her gingerbread men so I borrowed those and will paint them with paints I already had. I will be able to do my tree for around $1 (I did find some cute garland).

It's kind of fun working on it and it does bring me joy. I can't really garden, decorate, decorate the house outside for the season (we really get into it!) or do my dried florals in this time of my life so that one little thing does help and is fun being creative with.

Clay Christmas Ornaments

4 cups flour
1 tsp. powdered alum
1 cup salt
1 1/2 cups water

Mix ingredients well in a large bowl. If the dough is too dry, work in another tablespoon of water with your hands. Dough can be rolled or molded and can be colored with a few drops of food coloring. To roll: Roll dough 1/2 inch thick on lightly floured board. Cut with cookie cutters dipped in flour. Insert wire or make hole in top about 1/4 inch down for hanging. To mold: Shape dough no more than 1/2 inch thick. Bake ornaments on ungreased cookie sheet for 30 minutes in 250 oven. Turn and bake another 1 1/2 hours until hard and dry. Remove and cool. When done, paint and seal with spray varnish. You can lightly sand before painting. * Alum can be found in the spice section of your store.

Jill Cooper and Tawra Kellam are frugal living experts and the editors of http://www.LivingOnADime.com. As a single mother of two, Jill Cooper started her own business without any capital and paid off $35,000 debt in 5 years on $1,000 a month income. Tawra and her husband paid off $20,000 debt in 5 years on $22,000 a year income.

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