Bread dough ornaments are an easy and affordable craft that everyone can do, and you can make them as simple or as complicated as you like. I am going to show you how to make a simple but sophisticated bread dough ornament that I hope you will find inspiring. I made these as table favors for Kingdom Christian Academy's banquet. These could also be used as tie-ons for a gift, a Christmas ornament for your tree, a gift for a friend or as a Christmas ornament project for your children. It is still amazing to me you can take the ingredients of flour, salt and water to make such cute and adorable
handmade dough ornaments that can become keepsakes.
Supplies you will need:
flour, salt, measuring cups, 3-inch round cookie cutter, alphabet or word stamps, pattern stamp to emboss ornament (the one I used is an Inkadinkado stamp that came from Michaels), cutting board, rolling pin, cookie sheet lined with foil, ruler, ribbon, Delta Ceramcoat Sparkle Glaze and polyurethane spray.
Here is the recipe I use for bread dough ornaments:
1 c. flour
1/4 c. salt
1/2 c. warm water
colored powder tempera if desired (I added 4 T of white powder tempera that came from Hobby Lobby to make these ornaments)
Combine flour, salt and powder tempera. Stir to mix. Add water, usually I add part of the water, stir and add the rest if needed to make a ball. Knead with flour till it is a soft ball that is not sticky but not to stiff. Since I make lots of ornament dough, I use a food processor, which is an option.
Step 1
Cutting process - round circle
Lightly flour surface of cutting board, roll bread dough out to about 1/4 in..
Take stamp and lay on rolled out bread dough and emboss.
Take a round cookie cutter and place over embossed dough and cut out.
With your spatula move to a cookie sheet.
Continue embossing dough and cutting your ornaments till you have the desired number. I could get 10 ornaments out of one batch of dough.
Cutting process - word
Lightly flour surface of cutting board, roll bread dough out to about 1/8 in.
Cut out pieces of dough to stamp word. I used the word "believe" because it was the theme of the banquet. The dimensions for that word is 1 1/2 in. by 5/8 in. You could also use the word "joy", "peace", "love", "friend" or personalize with a name. You will have to adjust your dimensions according to the size of your stamp. You can find small word stamps or get small alphabet stamps to make your own word.
With your spatula move word pieces to lay on the circles you cut. I placed at an angle but you can place as desired.
Step 2
Baking or drying
When I made these I started out baking at 210 degrees for 6 hours or until hard. I don't know why, but sometimes a few of them might curl up slightly. The next batch I let dry for 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. I turned over after a week to dry on the back. These remained perfectly flat. If you have the time, I recommend letting them dry.
Step 3
Painting and finishing
After they are dried, I used Delta Ceramcoat Sparkle Glaze to paint on the ornaments. On the word pieces, I took a liner brush and outlined the word. I lined with bright pink or lime green for the colors of the banquet.
Step 2
Baking or drying
When I made these I started out baking at 210 degrees for 6 hours or until hard. I don't know why, but sometimes a few of them might curl up slightly. The next batch I let dry for 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. I turned over after a week to dry on the back. These remained perfectly flat. If you have the time, I recommend letting them dry.
Step 3
Painting and finishing
After they are dried, I used Delta Ceramcoat Sparkle Glaze to paint on the ornaments. On the word pieces, I took a liner brush and outlined the word. I lined with bright pink or lime green for the colors of the banquet.
Spray with 2 coats of polyurethane spray front and back, letting dry between each coat. This will seal the ornament. After the ornaments have dried, I cut 8 in. pieces of sheer organza ribbon and made the hangers.
How to store bread dough ornaments
Store in a cool, dry place
Do not store in damp basement or attic
I store all my ornaments in Rubbermaid type containers on the main floor of my home.
See examples of
bread dough ornaments I have made. Happy crafting!
The Elf on the Shelf tradition is based on a children's book written by Carol Aebersold and Chandra Bell to explain how Santa knows who's naughty and nice. 
Scout elves get their magic by being named and loved by a child. There's only one rule you must follow and that is not to touch the elf as the magic will disappear and Santa won't hear all that was seen. Although it can't be touched, they may speak to the scout elf and tell all of their Christmas wishes so that the elf can report back to Santa accurately. 
