A couple of months ago my two oldest daughters and I made some spice ornaments to go along with our history lessons. We were learning about new world explorers and how Europeans needed to find alternative trade routes in order to get exotic spices from the Orient due to the land routes becoming more and more treacherous and dangerous.
To touch on and remember the importance of spices to the Europeans, one of our lesson projects from the New World Explorers Time Traveler series was to make spice ornaments.
I modified the recipe in the lesson plans a bit and I think our ornaments turned out great. Not only was the end product lovely, but the process was fun and the whole house smelled amazing for days!
Here is how you can make some homemade spice ornaments of your own – perfect for hanging on the Christmas tree or giving as a gift.
Supplies:
- 1 cup ground cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp. ground allspice
- 2 Tbsp. ground nutmeg
- 1 cup applesauce
- 2 Tbsp. white glue
- drinking straw
- ribbon or twine
- cookie cutters
- rolling pin
- wax paper
- magnets (optional)
Directions:
1. Combine cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, applesauce, and glue until well blended. The mixture will become stiff.
2. Form dough into a ball and place on a sheet of wax paper. Roll out to a 1/4″ thick. Sprinkle rolling pin with cinnamon if needed to prevent sticking.
3. Using cookie cutters, cut out dough into desired shapes – we made hearts and stars.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 with left over dough until you have used up as much dough as you can.
5. For ornaments, use the drinking straw to make a hole at the top of your ornament to thread the ribbon or string for hanging. If you would like to make magnet, skip this step.
6. Place ornaments on a flat surface to air dry; a cookie cooling rack works nicely. Let them dry for 48-72 hours, turning them over half way through the drying period.
7. Once they are dry, thread the ribbon or twine through the hole and tie in a knot. If you choose to make magnets, place a self-adhesive magnet to the back (additional glue is recommended to reinforce adhesion).
8. Hang on the Christmas tree or give as a gift.
Cinnamon Spice Ornaments
This homemade spice ornaments are fun and easy to make, not to mention they smell great - perfect for hanging on the tree or giving as a gift.
Materials
- 1 cup ground cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp. ground allspice
- 2 Tbsp. ground nutmeg
- 1 cup applesauce
- 2 Tbsp. white glue
- drinking straw
- ribbon or twine
- cookie cutters
- rolling pin
- wax paper
- magnets (optional)
Instructions
- Combine cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, applesauce, and glue until well blended. The mixture will become stiff.
- Form dough into a ball and place on a sheet of wax paper. Roll out to a 1/4" thick. Sprinkle rolling pin with cinnamon if needed to prevent sticking.
- Using cookie cutters, cut out dough into desired shapes - we made hearts and stars.
- Repeat steps 2 and 3 with left over dough until you have used up as much dough as you can.
- For ornaments, use the drinking straw to make a hole at the top of your ornament to thread the ribbon or string for hanging. If you would like to make magnet, skip this step.
- Place ornaments on a flat surface to air dry; a cookie cooling rack works nicely. Let them dry for 48-72 hours, turning them over half way through the drying period. Once they are dry, thread the ribbon or twine through the hole and tie in a knot. If you choose to make magnets, place a self-adhesive magnet to the back (additional glue is recommended to reinforce adhesion).
- Hang on the Christmas tree or give as a gift.
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Loved seeing your girls hands on in this very pratical lesson. Im sure they will remember that lesson more than having it written on a black board!
I need to do more fun projects like this because as you said, these are the things they will remember.
This is just what I have been looking for, a recipe for spice ornaments without adding salt.
Thank you ?
This recipe turned out great! I can’t believe how easy they were to make.
Neat!!! Can you paint them?
Yes, if you’d like to. My girls ‘painted’ theirs with glitter glue to make them sparkly.
Could you bake them to dry them faster?
I’m not really sure; maybe bake one and test it out so you don’t ruin the whole batch if it doesn’t. It definitely takes a few days for them to dry out, and the thicker you make them, the longer it takes.
Will these give off a spicey aroma? What is the purpose of the glue?
They do give off a nice cinnamon spice scent; it will fade over time.
The glue is what holds it all together and give it shape.
Do you think I could make the dough the night before, wrap it up in saran wrap, put in a plastic bag and stick it in the refrigerator overnight?
I’m thinking it might still harden in that amount of time, even in those conditions, or at least be hard to work with.
I’ve been making these for years! To revive the smell, microwave plain or painted ornaments for 30 seconds. (No metal or magnets in microwave!!)
Thank you for this tip! I’m going to try it!!
How long do these last?
Do these last from year to year?
We still have the ones from this post; they are hanging on my tree. Of course they don’t really smell that much; you have to put it right up to your nose, but they are still pretty on the tree.
Been making these forever We decorated them with glitter glue. We live in Texas, they make the car smell good when hung from the rear view mirror.