Cinnamon Bird Ornaments

Although these whimsical birds look and smell like gingerbread cookies, their sparkling plumage hints at their true nature as sweet works of art. This sturdy flock -- including a cardinal and chickadee, among other birds -- will migrate each Christmas to decorate the tree. The birds are not meant to be eaten, though, however enticing they may be.


Tools and Materials
2 medium bowls
1 cup ground cinnamon
1/4 cup applesauce
Craft glue
Rolling pin
Bird templates
Utility knife, or bird-shaped cookie cutters
One straw
Wire Rack
Paper towels
Baking sheet
Glitter and beads
Bottle with applicator tip
Length of thin ribbon for each ornament
Tissue paper, for storing

STEPS:

Step 1: In a medium bowl, mix together 1 cup ground cinnamon and 1/4 cup applesauce using a rubber spatula. (I used about 1/3 cup of applesauce because my dough was too dry to shape or roll out)

Step 2: Stir in 1/2 cup craft glue. Stir the dough until consistency is smooth and dry. Let stand 1 hour. Applesauce gives the dough pliability, glue makes it firm, and cinnamon imparts a lovely fragrance and a gingerbread color.



Step 3: Turn out one-quarter of dough onto a cool, flat surface; flatten with your hands.

Step 4: Flatten with a rolling pin to 1/4 inch thick. If dough becomes too dry, spritz with water. If it sticks to rolling pin or work surface, sprinkle with additional cinnamon.

Step 5: Photocopy bird templates onto card stock (these are enlarged roughly 150 percent); cut them out, punching holes where indicated. Lay a template over dough; cut out shape with a utility knife (or use bird-shaped cookie cutters). Repeat with each of three remaining quarters of dough.

Step 6: With a straw, poke a hole in dough as indicated on template (for hanging). Air-dry ornaments on a wire rack lined with paper towels for 24 hours, turning them over every 6 hours or so to keep them flat. Alternatively, preheat oven to 200 degrees. Transfer ornaments to a baking sheet; bake, flipping once, until dry, about 2 hours.

Step 7: (As you decorate, proceed from the finest embellishment to the coarsest, adding glitter, then beads in order of size.) Using a bottle with an applicator tip, spread craft glue over the area you wish to decorate. While glue is still wet, sprinkle with glitter or beads, holding ornament over a bowl as you work; tap off excess. Work with one area at a time, letting it dry at least 30 mins before doing another section of your piece.

Step 8: Thread a length of ribbon through ornament's hole, trim the ends to prevent fraying, and knot. Once you take the ornaments off the tree, store them, wrapped individually in tissue paper, in a cool, dry place.




That's it! Simple as can be! You can find this and more ideas at www.MarthaStewart.com.... Martha, you are my hero! =P