Art & Story
Sharing tips, inspiration, and lessons from an artists’ journey.
DIY Christmas Ornaments with Cornstarch and Baking Soda
It's been such a long time since I made a craft just for fun. Usually, I talk myself out of doing this kind of thing, but to celebrate the holiday season and get in a festive mood, I decided to get out of my own way and make some cute Christmas ornaments. Oh, and what a joy it was!
It’s such a simple and fun craft that you can easily do with your little one, too.
Handle with care when painting and inserting string or you may risk breaking them. :(
All it takes to make these ornaments are cornstarch, baking soda, water, and that’s it! Bake them for a half an hour, paint, and then go crazy decorating them. Again, super easy.
There were some minor hiccups I had while painting but so long as you follow the directions, your ornaments should be alright. For example, make sure you roll the dough to a quarter-inch thickness and not any thicker. This helps your ornaments to harden completely when they bake. I, unfortunately, made the error of not rolling them out thin enough, and I had to throw half of them out because their centers never hardened. Luckily the recipe makes about 20+ ornaments, so I still had plenty to work with.
If you are feeling crafty, here’s how to make the cornstarch dough ornaments for you and your little ones:
Cornstarch Dough Ornaments
Materials
For Decorating:
Acrylic Paints
String ribbon and/or twine (for hanging)
Gloss Varnish
Scissors
Glitter (optional)
For Dough:
½ cup cornstarch
1 cup baking soda
¾ cup warm water
Rolling pin
Parchment paper
Cookie cutters
Directions
Preheat oven to 250F degrees.
In a medium sized saucepan over medium heat, combine cornstarch, baking soda, and warm water. Stir the ingredients for a couple of minutes until dough starts to form.
When the dough has thickened enough, remove from stove and place it into a medium sized bowl. While the dough cools, cover it with a wet paper towel to prevent the dough from drying out.
Once cool, sprinkle your countertop or work area with cornstarch to help prevent the dough sticking to surface area. Using a rolling pin, roll dough until it has a thickness of ¼ inch, then use your cookie cutters to cut-out your ornament shapes.
Using a straw or another poking device (I used a baking thermometer), poke a hole at the top of your ornament. This will be where you add string to hang after you have decorated them.
Gently place your cut-out ornaments on parchment paper and place them on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes.
After baking, remove them from oven and place them on a flat surface to cool.
Once cooled, you can begin to paint and decorate them as you like saving the string to hang for last.
(Optional) for a glossy finish and to preserve your ornaments, spray with a high gloss varnish before inserting the string for hanging.
Overall, these ornaments were a joy to make. Not only did the experience calm my busy mind but also helped me get into the holiday spirit. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I almost made another batch! But I’ll save my enthusiasm for next time. Making Christmas ornaments may just be a new holiday tradition I’ll do to celebrate Christmas every year.
What Makes a House a Home
There are many things I love about being an illustrator that I wouldn’t trade for anything else in the world. Now, I’m not trying to boast, but I am truly grateful that I get to use my creativity on a daily basis, read about fascinating new topics, and bring stories to life with my artwork. For a hermit like me who enjoys her solitude, it’s a great setup. But what I love most of all is that I have the opportunity to work from the comfort of my home.
Home is a feeling.
A few weeks ago, my daughter and I moved into our new apartment, and we’re finally feeling settled in enough to enjoy our new space. While most of the unpacking is complete and all the utilities are working as they should, transforming it into a quiet refuge from the outside world will take some time and patience. But it’s not a problem; I love transforming spaces into nurturing havens of comfort, warmth, and coziness. It’s my jam.
You see, most of my childhood I lived in houses that lacked the support, care, and love one needs to thrive, and I know too well the damage it can do to one’s well-being. Such spaces drain your energy, ruin your health, and rob your vitality. You eventually become a shell—like the house you occupy—of yourself, a person living with their eyes and heart closed in a home where there is no warmth.
Our homes are extensions of ourselves.
To thrive and be our most authentic selves, our home must be a sacred space, not just a residence where we keep our things and sleep. It should be our refuge, where we go to restore our spirits and reprieve from the harshness of the outside world. It’s where we have can let our hair down and remove the invisible armor we wear in public spaces. It’s where we should feel safe, nurtured, and comforted so we can learn, grow, and realize our full potential. And since most of us spend the majority of our time in our homes, making sure that it’s a comforting space that we can escape to should be paramount.
To live in a loving and peaceful world,
then it must begin in the home.
Our homes can be sacred spaces that fill our cups, or they can be large containers that we only use to store our things. Only when we’ve poured our love, attention, and care into our dwellings—including the people within—does it truly become a home. And if we can succeed in making a loving and safe space for ourselves and our loved ones, then it’s possible that we can have the courage to extend our hearts out to others, too.
So, I must ask, is your home a sacred space?