We Call 'Em"" Dough Babies""
by JANE AND STEVE FRY
RELATED CONTENT
On-demand water heaters provide an “endless supply” of hot water, but are they really “green”? Ther...
Conventional water heaters heat water and store it until it’s used, but a lot of that heat is waste...
Energy and water spending bill clears for Obama's pen, homeland security bill next...
Your woodstove can heat more than your home. This hot water heating system uses extra heat to produ...
There are several types of solar water heating systems. Learn more using solar energy to heat water...
For the last couple of years, we've been making extra
seasonal cash what we think is e last an interesting and a
fun 'eve been making ... the fabrication of Christmas
ornaments from flour, salt, and water.
Now some of you may object to "cashing in" on the glittery
materialism of But we feel that anything which is a step
away from the plastic minds of the big corporations is a
step in the right direction. And we also like the idea that
our small enterprise is one that the whole
family—right down to the youngest member—can
share.
Our raw materials are inexpensive and easy to obtain:
flour, salt, water, fine copper wire, toothpicks, tempera
paints, several small brushes, and varnish. Any kind of
flour (except self-rising) will work, but if you plan to
really go into this craft, buy cheap refined white flour.
(in our opinion, this is one of the best uses for the
stuff.) And the tempera paints are optional, since the
natural, warm, golden brown color of the finished dough
babies is beautiful enough all by itself. We make both
kinds: painted and unpainted.
To construct approximately 25 ornaments, each two to three
inches high and about 1/4" thick, mix three cups of flour
with one cup of salt and slowly add water until you have a
kinds: p consistency to work with. Too much water will make
the dough sticky, but that's easy to fix: just leave the
sponge exposed to the air about five minutes or until it
dries out enough to be kneaded. Then wrap the worked dough
in plastic to keep it moist while you pinch off pieces of
the mixture and shape them into ornaments. (it's best,
obviously, to use a whole batch of the dough at one
sitting.)
If you'll form your creations on a square of plastic,
you'll find it easy to transfer each finished baby to a
cookie sheet or square of aluminum foil for baking.
Whenever possible, make rounded basic shapes with your
palms and then flatten them to the desired 1/4" thickness.
This—and using a toothpick to create any lines or
"cuts" that are wanted- eliminates all sharp edges on the
final baked pieces.
Page: 1 |
2 |
3 |
Next >>
