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Large ornaments should be strength-
ened with wire. Dough has no strength
and requires support for larger orna-
ments. If the dough connects in small
pieces (head and neck, arms or legs),
insert toothpicks or wires between parts
to keep the portions from separating
over time.
Make impressions on dough with a
variety of instruments. Impressions
hold up best with a stiffer dough. All
kinds of instruments can be used to
make impressions to give texture and
design to ornaments.
Push dough through a garlic press or
grater to make hair and other decorative
effects. Cake decorating tubes with large
nozzles can be used for making designs.
Add extra water to soften dough to a
good consistency.
Add a hanging device to the top or back
of an ornament, before baking and dry-
ing, if it is to be hung.
Use Christmas ornament hooks, bent
wire, circles from pop-top drink cans,
or paper clips. Push hanging device into
dough at top center, close to the back
of the piece.
Remember, the final dough shape is
the shape which will be baked. If there
are loose pieces or undesirable marks
in the dough, they will exist in the
finished product.
Precoloring dough
Before baking, raw dough can be
precolored by adding drops of paste
food coloring, watercolors, inks, and
fabric dyes. Powdered colors should be
mixed with the flour and salt before
adding water.
Liquid shoe polish or leather dye can
also be brushed on lightly during the
first 15 minutes of baking.
Baking and Drying Dough
Dough should be baked for 2 hours
at 300°F (150°C) in your oven. Then
transfer to your dehydrator. Dry at the
highest temperature setting for an addi-
tional 4 to 12 hours until completely
dry (until you become more experi-
enced with drying dough-art in your
NESCO
®
American Harvest® dehydra-
tor, it is wise to place a piece of dough,
the same size as the largest /thickest
piece of your ornament, to use as a test
piece. To test for dryness, break apart
the test piece. It is done when it is com-
pletely dry inside).
Remove ornaments when totally dry
and cool prior to applying paint.
Painting dough
Acrylic paints are the most popular and
easily applied. They are available in jars,
spray cans, and tubes. They mix easily
and dry quickly. If you are adding
different colored layers over one
another, use a coat of sealer between
them to prevent them from running
or smearing.
When painting is complete, dry in your
dehydrator at the highest temperature
setting for 1 to 2 hours until thoroughly
dry.
Sealing
It is extremely important to seal salt
dough ornaments to prevent moisture
from reentering and causing mold and
disintegration.
There is a wide variety of final coatings
which can be used, but they should be