Pressed flower ornaments you can make

With the holiday season upon us, many people are looking for new ways to decorate their homes, as well as great homemade gifts to give to loved ones. The most important thing is that these ideas are as simple as possible and contain the basic ingredients commonly found in every home. This year, why not put your pressed flowers and leaves to good use by making some festive pressed flower ornaments?

You need:

• 1 cup of baking soda
• ¾ cup of warm water
• ½ cup of corn starch
• Pressed flowers and leaves
• Rolling pin
• Cookie cutter or glass for cutting round discs
• Mod podge (you can buy or make your own)
• Paint brush
• String for hanging each ornament OR magnets for fridge decorations

Instructions:

• To begin, you need to mix the baking soda and corn starch in a pot.
• Add warm water and heat slowly on your stove.
• Stir continuously and soon you will notice the dough will start to come away from the sides of your pot.
• When the dough becomes firm, you can remove from the stove and allow to cool before turning it out onto a flat surface.
• Kneed the dough for a few minutes before rolling out with the rolling pin.
• Use your cookie cutter or a cup to cut your dough into various shapes.
• Use a toothpick or straw to make a hole in the top part of each ornament.
• If you want to make magnets, there is no need for making these holes.
• Place these shapes on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 100 degrees C for about 1 hour.
• You can use this time to choose your flowers and leaves.
• Once all of the dough shapes are baked, you should remove them from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
• You can make your own mod podge if you don’t have any. Simply combine one part wood glue with half a part water. Mix well and you’re ready to go!
• Paint the surface of the disk with the mod podge before placing your leaves and flowers or flower petals on the dough ornament.
• Once you have created your design, apply another layer of mod podge over the top and allow to dry.
• Once properly dried, you can add a ribbon to the hole and create a hanging loop. Alternatively, use a strong glue (like superglue) to adhere a magnet to the back of the pressed flower ornaments and place them on your fridge.

Not only are these pressed flower ornaments fun to make in the winter, but they will spruce up your home and you could even make some personalised designs to give to friends and family over the holiday season.