ornament update ~

There was no one home last night but little ol' me ~ which meant no distractions ~ which meant I was able to sit down and kick out the rest of the applesauce/cinnamon ornaments (recipe on prior post).

In answer to a few questions about these:

How long will they last?  Forever.
It is best to keep them between seasons in a sealed container.  They will retain their scent a long time.  I have some on a little wreath that hangs year round by my entry hall that have to be at least five years old.  If you just give them a very light mist of water once a year they seem to rejuvenate themselves.

What kind of paint do I use:  An oil-based marking pen.

They sell these paint pens in any craft store; but I prefer to buy them at a hardware store or in an automotive store. You can get them for half the price there versus a craft store.  They call them touch up pens.  They come in an array of colors.

Every recipe I've seen on making these ornaments say that you can use any kind of paint on them.  I beg to disagree with that.  I have painted them with water-based acrylics before; but they have a tendancy to fade out. They also say you can coat them with a light layer of polyurethane or varnish ... well ... to me that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever ... you'll lose the scent then of the cinnamon ~ locking it under the finish.  duh!! 

I've  seen recipes for this that say you should add white glue to the dough ... I personally don't see any reason for it.  Besides that ... these have to bake for a couple hours ... I don't want glue baking in my oven.  You don't have to use old cookie sheets either ~ they won't stain or stick.  If you have sil pats though for your baking sheets I do think that would be benificial ... you wouldn't have to grease the cookie sheet then.  

Just my opinion. 

Until next time ...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel