51 Days & Counting - Keepsake Gingerbread Ornaments

It's easy to make adorable keepsake ornaments from altered gingerbread dough. (Although they do take a little pre-planning as the dough need to sit in the fridge overnight!) They look and smell like real cookies and, I believe, acrylic paint is easier to decorate with than real icing!! You can use them as tree ornaments, gift tags (that can then be hung as tree ornaments), adornment for wreaths, magnets, attached to baskets, garlands, etc.

This particular recipe is made with ingredients most of us already have on hand, rolls and cuts with cookie cutters just like regular gingerbread cookies but bakes up rock hard! They will even smell great for years and years!

I have found the scent comes through when you glaze them with a regular craft shellac but I prefer a polyurethane coating and that often eliminates the scent. It's your choice!

Recipe for Gingerbread Ornament Dough (NOT EDIBLE)

3 Tablespoons shortening

1/2 Cup sugar

1/2 Cup molasses

1 Teaspoon baking soda

3/4 Cup flour

1 Teaspoon each of cloves, ginger and cinnamon

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

*Beat shortening & sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in molasses.

*Sift the dry ingredients together. Stir them into the shortening mixture in 3 parts, alternating with 1/4 cup water each time. Dough will be stiff.

*Refrigerate overnight.

*Cut dough into 3 pieces. Knead to warm dough slightly, then roll each piece to about 1/4 " thick.

*Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out cookie shapes and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. (You can use parchment paper if you'd like.) **If you will be using these as hanging ornaments poke a hole in the top center of the shape using a sharp, pointy object. (I usually use a small Phillips screwdriver for this.)

***The hole will shrink about 50% during baking so be sure it is large enough for whatever type of ribbon or string you plan to use.

*Bake 20 minutes, then turn the oven off and let them cool in the oven.

*Remove from the cookie sheet and place on a rack to dry for approximately 3 days to harden. (I generally cover a clean, cold cookie sheet with wax paper and set my shapes on that. I stash them on top of a high bookshelf in my dining room and mark my calendar to remind me they are there. - Yes, I have forgotten them for days!)
*When set, you can seal the "cookies" with a clear acrylic shellac available in any craft store and use acrylic paints to decorate them.

These are inedible. They are purely for use as decorations.

Newsflash: Missing blogger finds her way back!!

O.K., so I’ve been MIA for awhile. I missed most of September, all of October and now 4/5 of November. I had originally planned to blog a little each day but life has gotten in the way. When it comes to the important things in life, family and their needs, home duties and flesh and blood friends need to come first. So, while I found a few minutes here and there to jot down some thoughts in my journal, I really didn’t find time to settle in at the keyboard and blog for all. I hope to be on track again now and hope to really get this blog in shape.

I’d like to do a 30-days to Christmas countdown with a craft or decorating idea each day. By doing so, maybe I’ll get my act together on time this year. Is there anybody out there who really is completely ready and has done everything they wanted for the holiday by the time they break out the wine on Christmas Eve? Or do many of us simply take a deep breath and say, “It is what it is.”

Ultimately, I’d like to share a thought or commentary, the craft of the day, maybe share a laugh or an “Ahh” moment, maybe even a recipe on a daily basis. I’m still not too technically savvy so this may not come across as polished as I’d like. I need to learn how to post pics on the blog. I think it’s possible but I need to find a preteen who can give me step-by-step instructions.

The Big Guy is finally returning to work tomorrow. He’s been off with his knee surgery for 15 weeks. (Now, you know why my schedule was way off!) We’ve done some major maintenance work on the house over the last few weeks. Followed by two weeks on the road to visit The Big Guy’s family in the Midwest. His mom is struggling but hanging in there. His sister is doing her best to maintain her own sanity and she and her hubby took a much needed break, leaving us to Mom-Sit for a few days. Unfortunately, the 1200 miles in between make it difficult for us to do this more than twice a year. Now that I’m home, it’s time to settle in and get busy making those Christmas gifts.

My online shop, http://www.splashin.etsy.com/ is really slow at the moment so I don’t have a lot of holiday orders to handle there. I wish I did but it has been slow to catch on. The few orders I’m working on have been from family and friends, not the website. It’s one of those to do things for the winter. I really need to learn to promote the site.