DIY Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments

Each year since Baker was born we've made handmade ornaments to gift our family and friends for Christmas! We always incorporate his handprint, footprint, or fingerprints in some way. Some years we've made salt dough and some years we've made fun paper crafts. This year a sweet friend of mine gifted us THE cutest vintage firetruck wrapping paper and it inspired us to use some of our fire themed cookie cutters to create sweet memories and gifts to hang on the tree!

Cinnamon applesauce dough is super easy to whip up and it smells wonderful!

Nothing sweeter!

All you need is applesauce, cinnamon, cookie cutters, a cookie sheet, an oven and something small to poke a hole in each ornament. (I use a straw!)

I used about 1 part applesauce to 10 parts cinnamon. (I bought the cheapest supplies I could find since we wouldn't be eating them! A 48oz jar of applesauce and about 10-12 small bottles of ground cinnamon.) Slowly combine the two ingredients until a thick, dry dough forms. Don't pour and mix your cinnamon too fast or you'll end up in a cloud of messy baking dust! Keep adding dry cinnamon until your dough is thick and dry enough to stamp. You'll know if it's too runny!

Roll out your dough into about a 1/4 inch thick sheet. I sprinkle a little extra cinnamon onto the counter and rolling pin to keep the dough from sticking. You don't want your dough to be too thin or it will curl and crack once baked!

Use your cookie cutters of choice to cut out your ornament shapes! I also used my imagination and created a few extra special ornaments by hand. (Like the replica of our barn pictured below!) Baker also stamped his hand to gift his grandparents. I used a small, sharp knife to cut out each handprint and then used the broad side of the knife to smooth the edges!

My mama gifted us the cookie cutters but you can find them on Amazon!

The cutest helper!

Before you bake your ornaments use something slender to create a small hole to thread your string or ornament hook through. I use a straw! You could also use a small wooden dowel or something similar.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place your ornaments flat. Bake LOW and SLOW at 200 degrees for about 2-3 hours to let them harden. Once you remove them from the oven allow them to cool overnight before handling!

Your home (and tree!) will smell like Christmas! We have so much fun crafting these memories and gifting special treats to our loved ones.

This precious vintage firetruck paper from TJMaxx/HomeGoods is perfectly festive for our fire family!

This little guy is definitely a favorite this year!

Happy Crafting!

-Lauren

Happy Halloween! Our Radio Flyer Fire Truck

It's no secret that we absolutely love Halloween! Last year when Baker was only a few months old Brett traveled out of state to a Fire Conference and brought home the most precious little fire fighter uniform. This season it fit him perfectly and this costume just fell right into place! He ADORES everything fire related (no surprise!) and we can't seem to keep him out of his new ride. The first time he saw it he kept telling us Thank You over and over and over.. It just melted my heart! We've joked that maybe we should just turn it into a toddler bed since he loves it so much. ;) The fire truck fits right over his Radio Flyer wagon and it's going to make Trick or Treating around town so fun and easy! Especially if he gets tired! We've had so much fun this season already with fall festivals, Boo at the Zoo, and Trunk-or-Treating. We can't wait to hit the streets this weekend for some more festivities around town. The City of Columbiana hosts "Monster Walk" this weekend plus Baker will get to Trick Or Treat for real for the first time! We absolutely cannot wait!

Happy Halloween from Chief Baker!

Direct Link to purchase your own Radio Flyer wagon at the bottom of the post!

My inspiration for this actually came from a fire truck wagon made of cardboard. And of course Brett wanted to upgrade the idea! I headed to work one day and a few hours later he was sending me pictures of his progress. I literally gasped out loud when I got his photos! It was everything I wanted and then some! HE KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK. HOME RUN. Once I saw the initial design he came up with I started to envision a little wooden fire truck toy. Similar to the miniature handmade trucks and toys he's built before.. I wanted it to look like a life size replica! And I was so excited to finish it that we started on the detail work as soon as I got home that day. We were up pretty late but sometimes when my creative wheels start turning and we're knee deep in a project the adrenaline hits and I just don't want to stop until I can physically see what I've been dreaming up in my mind. It's an addiction! A DIY addiction! We used all scrap wood from the wood shop, as well. The overall cost was minimal. Nearly free!