Gift Giving: Homemade Handprint Ornaments
Are you looking for great gifts to give but are on a tight budget? This is a simple recipe that uses a few items from your pantry and makes a thoughtful Christmas Gift. Last year for Christmas gifts we made Homemade Cinnamon Handprints for Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and extended family members. They were inexpensive, easy to do, and the girls had a lot of fun. You probably have all the ingredients already.
Cinnamon Handprint Ornaments:
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 cup Salt
- 5 teaspoons Cinnamon
- 3/4 cup Water
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Stir in water gradually to make dough. If it is sticking to your hands, add more flour or if it is too crumbling add more water. Knead dough for approximately 8 minutes until smooth. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll out dough to desired thickness (typically between 1/4 to 3/4 inches thick).
We used a football cookie cutter for the oval (you can use a circle or anything big enough that they can fit their hands in) than lightly floured their hands before making a slight indention on the clay. We took a stamp and pressed their first initial in the bottom of each palm to help us remember who it belonged to. Since my girls are twins their hand sizes are almost the same!
After making the handprint in the clay use a straw to make a hole in the top so you can hang the ornament.
Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hour. (Thicker dough will take longer to bake). They are done when the clay is dry, you notice a slight change in color. Cool and add a ribbon of your choice!
Optional: Once cooled you can use spray on polyurethane for extra shine.
Ours still smell great even after a year. We made more than one batch since we have a large family but you can do as many as you want. With the extra dough we made Christmas ornaments so we could hang them on the tree.
