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Porcelain Cookie Ornaments By Bethany Booth Homemade Christmas ornaments seem to draw out the silliest and happiest Christmas memories in my family, like the time my 6 year old sister needed more string for her paper plate wreath so she cut off her entire ponytail and glued it to the plate and painted it green! These porcelain cookie ornaments are a perfect family activity for a cold and snowy, indoor day. You are sure to create lovely tree decorations and happy memories that will both last for years to come. You will need: Cornstarch dough (most salt dough recipes will work as well) Cookie cutters A straw (to make a hole for hanging) Ribbon or string Decorating materials To Make Ornaments: 1. Make dough: Porcelain Ornament Dough 2 cups cornstarch 2 cups baking soda 2 ¾ cups cold water

Directions:
In a saucepan, combine cornstarch and baking soda. Gradually add water until the mixture is smooth. Heat, stirring constantly until the mixture reaches a moist mashed-potato consistency.
Turn onto a plate, cover with a damp towel. Knead dough when cool enough to handle.
Clay is now ready to shape.

2. Roll out dough on a floured surface about ¼” thick
3. Cut out desired shapes with cookie cutters
4. Use a straw to punch a hole in the top of the shape
5. Place shapes on cookie sheet and bake at 225 degrees for 2-3 hours; turning occasionally to avoid curling
6. Remove shapes from oven and cool for several hours (since these do take a while to bake and cool, we like to make the cut outs before dinner, bake them while we eat dinner, watch a classic Christmas movie while they finish baking and cooling, and then decorate before bed time. It is a great way to spend an entire evening together.)

7. Decorate!

Suggested decorating materials:

Permanent color felt tip markers

Paints

Glitter

Sequins

White glue

To make a shiny, glaze-like paint, follow this recipe: