Salt Dough Handprint Ornaments

Christmas at our house is in full swing!  And by full swing, I mean I still have half my presents to complete (I'm making most of them) and all the presents to wrap.  Nevertheless, I can cross one thing off my list of things to do: Making salt dough ornaments!  I've seen a lot of different recipes and ideas for salt dough ornaments floating around the boards on Pinterest lately and after researching a number of them, I decided on a recipe that I really like.

Salt Dough Ornaments:

2 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
3/4 cup warm water

Mix everything in a bowl.  Knead on a floured surface for 10 minutes.  Yes, 10 minutes.  You need to do this because it helps the dough to become smooth and pliable.  While you're kneading, if the dough seems too sticky add a little flour as you go.  Roll out dough to about 1/2 inch thick.  Cut out as desired.  For the handprint ornaments, we pushed my daughter's hand into the rolled out dough and then used a bowl to cut a circle around it.  I used a straw to poke a hole for the ribbon and then used a toothpick to prick small holes for ventilation.  Place ornaments on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and cook at 200F for 4 hours.

After they were cool, I painted them with acrylic paint.  After the paint had dried, I sprayed them with clear sealant, which gave them a nice shiny look.

For something extra, I took a picture of Olive, cut it into a circle and attached it with Mod Podge to the back of each ornament.  After it was dry, I sprayed it with the clear sealant.

Stick a ribbon on it, and you have a personal, homemade gift for a friend or family member.  The ones I made are all for family members as a little something extra in addition to their main gift.  I really like the way they turned out.  Next year, of course, Olive will help with the painting and that's when they'll start looking really homemade!

Pinterest Friday

Ah, Pinterest.  We've been having a love-hate relationship lately.  I love finding all kinds of great ideas, but I hate that I don't have enough time in the day to actual bring those ideas to life!  But not today people, not today - I actually made something!  Here's the original pin:

Homemade Sugar Scrubs

I've actually pinned a number of sugar scrub ideas with the plan for making them as Christmas gifts.  The scrubs that are linked to this pin look delicious enough to eat, but unfortunately, don't come with any recipes (you can pay to buy a book of the recipes...boooo).  I thought, it can't be that hard to figure out how to make a sugar scrub so I did a little research online and after finding lots of different methods, I came up with three of my own.  I plan on gifting them to a family member. 

From left to right:  "All Day Glow" Vanilla-Honey Body Scrub, "Pie in the Sky" Pumpkin Spice Face Scrub, "Wake Up Toesies" Peppermint Foot Scrub

I love the way each of the scrubs turned out.  They smell delicious, look like they cost a lot more than they actually did, and make your skin feel silky smooth.  Plus, the tags make them look extra cute and homemade.  Here's what I wrote inside the tags, along with the recipe.  (A note about the recipes:  The measurements aren't exact.  If it's too dry, add more oil.  If it's too wet, add more sugar.  If you want to use another kind of oil, go for it.  Experiment until you find something that you like.)

"All Day Glow"

3 cups brown sugar

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 tsp vitamin E oil (natural preservative)

2 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp honey

Mix well and put in a jar.

"Pie in the Sky"

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vitamin E oil

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

Mix well and put in a jar.

"Wake Up Toesies"


3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 tsp vitamin E oil
1 tsp peppermint extract
handful (6?) round peppermint candies

Mix everything well, except for candies.  Separate mixture into two bowl.  In a small bag, crush candies until they are finely ground.  Pour candies into one of the bowls and mix.  Pour pink and white scrub into layers into a jar.  Or....just mix it all together and call it a day.  It will still be just as good!

Happy Holidays and to hoping your skin feels extra smooth in the days to come!

Pinterest Friday

Well, I haven't really had access to my computer all week because our power cord stopped working.  We had to order a new one and just got it in the mail today, so now I'm good to go!  What did that mean for me?  I realized how amazingly obsessed I am with the computer.  I found myself having withdrawals - that can't be good!
Computer issues aside, here's what I did from Pinterest this week.  Click on the picture caption to link to the original pin.
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Original Pin: Homemade Laundry Soap

I love this laundry soap!  It's amazing.  It's better for the environment, uses way less material, and is much, much cheaper than store-bought laundry soap.  I've made it two times now - just made my second batch tonight.  (I use it with my homemade dryer sheets!) I don't have any pictures of me making it because the blogger who did it originally did a great job of explaining and taking pictures.  Here's the link to her blog so you can have the recipe, too!  (It doesn't look like her blog is being updated anymore, but I want to make sure she gets credit.)

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Original Pin: Sensory Balloons

This idea came from the blog Play at Home Mom, a blog that I absolutely LOVE and gets tons of ideas from.  The moms who post on the blog are amazing and deserve all the credit.  Okay, all praise aside, I did this with my 17 month old today and she really enjoyed it.  Play at Home Mom did this with a 3 year old and has some great ideas for that age (I love how this activity can span many ages).  Working with a 17 month old is a little different.  Here's how it turned out for us:

Our balloon fillings -->
Top Row: avocado pieces, garbanzo beans, ketchup, couscous
Bottom Row: candy fruit belts, dry wagon wheel pasta, syrup, grapes
A note about the fillings..... The avocado and garbanzo beans had both gone bad and were going to get thrown away.    I say, why waste?  If you can't eat it, put it in a balloon and squeeze it! :)

Picking up the first balloon.  "Ooooohhh".

She had to feel all the balloons at least once and then went back twice to the ones she really liked.

It wouldn't be a normal activity in our house if it didn't go in her mouth.  Of course, she had to bite it.  

The ketchup and syrup were both cold from the fridge and she liked feeling the coldness on her head.

Squishing it down...Oh geez, please don't pop!

Listening to the sound of the wagon wheel pasta balloon.  

I squeezed the avocado balloon so she could see inside a little.  I wouldn't recommend this unless you have short nails.    The balloon popped seconds later. :(

Squeezing the wagon wheel pasta balloon to show her the shape inside.

I loved this sensory activity.  More importantly, Olive loved it, too.  If you're worried about the mess that might be created if a balloon pops, fill it with things that won't make as much of a mess such as:  fuzzy craft poms, any small shell dry pasta, cotton balls, water, dried beans, etc.  Have fun finding different textures for your little one to play with!