As a Christian, Easter reminds me of the new life I now live in Christ.
As a homeschooling mother of four, Easter comes around at that time each spring when the school year has gotten long and I begin each new day already exhausted.
I’ll be honest, this time of year is hard for me.
The year’s end is just around the corner. You aren’t done yet, but you sure want to be! It’s probably a hard time for all teachers and students. (Hence spring break’s invention.)
I recently discovered just the scripture passage I need at this time of the year:
“For a piece of ground that drinks in the rains so frequently falling on it, and continues yielding vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives from God His blessings. But if it continues to yield thorns and thistles, it is considered worthless and in danger of being cursed, and its final fate is burning…Continue to show the same earnestness to the very end, that you may enjoy your hope to the fullest, so that you may not grow careless.”
(Williams New Testament In The Language Of The People; Hebrews 6:7,8,11)
These verses remind me that if I’m so stressed I can’t see the rain God is pouring down on me each and every day, it means I’m not looking for it. The whole purpose of God watering me and cultivating my life is for the blessing of those around me—not to make my existence easy, or calm the chaos that makes my eyes twitch. Truly learning to live and (more importantly!) LOVE on those hard days is one of the most powerful examples we can set for our children!
It’s a good reminder to pull up my big-girl breeches, climb out of my careless pity party, and quit heaping up thorns and thistles of ungratefulness.
Now that we’ve established why new life is such a great reminder each spring, Easter should also be a fun family time of celebration together … and what could be better than an Easter craft celebrating new life, that you can make and share with friends and neighbors?
Salt Dough Easter Ornaments
Supplies you will need:
- 4 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of salt
- 1.5 cups of warm water
- Cookie cutters (Easter/Spring themed)
- Acrylic paint (colors of your choice)
- Mod Podge
Preheat your oven to 225° F. Mix up your flour and salt, add warm water and stir. If it is too dry, add a bit more water until you get a good dough consistency. You don’t want it sticky.
Roll it out to about ¼ inch thickness and cut the desired shapes. We used different shaped and sized eggs, flowers, a cross, rabbits, and butterfly cookie cutters. If you will want to hang them when they are finished, use a drinking straw to punch a hole in them before baking.
Also, my kids took a knife and made a few decorative markings in some of their creations like rabbit whiskers and eyes at this stage.
Now here is the tricky part. You can let them air dry, but that could take up to a week. I baked mine on a low temperature of 225° F for several hours. I started them the evening before and actually ended up turning my oven off that night and continuing the next morning. Turning up the heat to 325° F speeds up this process, but you will likely have some bubbling. If you want to avoid that, give yourself extra time baking your ornaments on low heat. I flipped mine over after the top side was hard, to dry the bottom more quickly.
I was tempted to try drying them in the dehydrator, but I resisted. It might work well, though, and you could leave it drying overnight. (If anyone gives that a try, please leave me a comment. I’m curious how that would work.)
Once you have achieved rock-hard ornaments, paint them however you like.
When the paint is dry, brush them with Mod Podge. If you have never used Mod Podge, it will remind you of white craft glue, but don’t worry, it will dry clear.
If you still have creative energy you can use craft glue and glitter to decorate them even more.
May God continue to shower you and yours with His blessings this Easter season!
WARNING:
salt dough ornaments are toxic to your pets,
especially dogs, if they are ingested …
so please keep them out of reach.
