If you’d like a great craft project to do with your child this holiday season, consider making homemade cornstarch clay ornaments. This is a fun little project to do on a cold winter’s day. You can make some lovely new ornaments for your Christmas tree and even give some finished ornaments as gifts. All it requires is cornstarch, salt, water, some cookie cutters and a little creativity.
I first used a cornstarch clay recipe I found in Disney’s Family Fun magazine. (Exact recipe can be found on the Family Fun web site. Search “cornstarch clay” and it should appear at the top of your search results.) Keep in mind, this recipe requires boiling the ingredients together on a hot stove, so be sure that a responsible adult does this part of the project. The clay should be removed from saucepan after boiling to correct consistency. Place wax paper onto your working surface, and allow clay to cool until it can be safely handled.
The resulting clay will be white and pliable, with a very pleasant texture. If you would like different colors of clay, adds a few drops of food coloring to a segregated batch. Or you may paint your creations with craft paints after they have dried thoroughly.You may want to double, or even triple the recipe if you have more than one child working on this project.
Roll out your clay to a uniform thickness. You don’t want it too thin, as the clay may crack during the drying process. Too thick, and it takes several days to dry completely. Try for a happy “medium” thickness. Use holiday cookie cutters to create a variety of festive shapes. If you want to hang the ornament with a piece of yarn or string, make sure to make the hole before setting piece out to dry. (A sewing needle or end of a paperclip works well for this, and should be done by an adult if using a sharp object.) Make sure to make the hole large enough to insert a piece of string or yarn through.
Clean up is super easy, just pick up any crumbs of clay using another piece of clay, it will stick right to it. Then, carry your sheet of wax paper with the newly made ornaments still on it, over to someplace where it can lay flat to dry.Make sure clay ornaments are thoroughly dry before attempting to paint. This may take up to a few days,The leftover clay can be easily wrapped in plastic with a bit of damp sponge and stored in an air tight container, and should last for several days.Your child will have a white salty residue on their hands from working with the clay, which washes away with regular hand washing.
When thoroughly dried, paint if desired and then allow paint to dry. String some yarn or other string through ornament, and tie a knot in string. Make sure to write name of whoever made the ornament, who it’s for and the year it was made on the backside with a permanent marker. Now you will have a treasured holiday keepsake and will be reminded of this day for years to come.