Tutorials

Feedsack Panel Pillows!

Fun way to decorate your smart phone cover with mod podge!

Making Polymer Clay Candies
With LeeAnn Kress of
Charmed Confections

PART 1
PART 2

The Making And Painting Of Henrietta Hen
Part 1
Part 2

How I Finish My Gingers

Cold Process Soaping

A few of my favorite craft room supplies

Cinnamon Cut-Outs

This is my first blog tutorial, this will be on making prim cinnamon cut-outs for using on any type of creating, just use your imagination the uses are endless! I use these mainly for my artwork, often times they add just the right prim touch to a doll or a needed button here or there, I love them! I love using these especially on my gingerbread dolls, see an example right now on my give away ginger, and the one for sale, you see hearts and ginger buttons on the apron. They can also be painted on and sprinkled with glitter!

Here you see the very simple gathering of ingredients, applesauce, cinnamon and flour. You will need cut outs in various shapes and sizes, rolling pin, bowl and measuring cups.

Now start adding your ingredients, 1/2 Cup Cinnamon, 1/2 Cup Applesauce and 1/4 Cup Flour. You may need to add more flour depending on how wet your applesauce is, I added quite a bit more than 1/4 cup until I liked the consistency. (Not too sticky)

Here it is ready to be mixed together.

Here it is all mixed up, I know I know!!! it does not look too pretty at this stage. I take the dough ball and wrap in foil, then put it in the fridge over night. Next day take out to room temp and your ready to roll it out.

Here the dough is ready to be rolled out, first I sprinkle my area with cinnamon to keep it from sticking to the rolling pin. This really does smell great!

Roll out to desired thickness, but beware of rolling bigger pieces out too thin, they will have a tendency to cup during baking a bit more. Roll the dough and continue to dust with cinnamon.

I am at the fun part, cutting them out! I have collected all kinds of neat cutters, I even have real tiny ones I use a lot for doll buttons. You can get these in various places, kitchen stores and I recommend looking online at websites that sell sculpting tools, clay etc... they carry these smaller shapes. Michaels even has a few. If your cut-outs stick, just use a tool  and push through.

See that green spatula? That is a Cricut tool but it works great to scrape these little guys off the cuttin surface and onto the baking pan.

I am now cutting all the holes. I use small straws, toothpicks or whatever size make-shift tool I can to get the desired look. I poke tiny holes on the gingerbread men, bigger button holes on some, you never know later how you will use them so I make a variety.

Here are my variety of shapes all ready to be baked in the oven. Let them sit and dry for 2 hours turning to air both sides. Now set your oven to 200 degrees

In the oven they go!

Bake these for 45 minutes, turning every 10 or 15 minutes to help prevent cupping. I am not too picky if they come out perfect. They will harden more after a few days and even more after a few weeks, store them so they can get ventilation while they are hardening. If you test the hearts and they break easily, leave them in a well ventilated area for a few more weeks and they will harden more. I personally have had no problem with mine hardening up enough to use within a week.

What could be better than a bag full of these wonderful smelling shapes! you never know when they will be called upon to give the perfect finishing touch!

Enjoy!!