25 Days of Ornaments: Fimo Fun

Alas, I didn't get around to posting yesterday...which is especially sad considering that I am posting about ornaments I made a few years ago that I rediscovered when I was home.

Some of the easiest ornaments you can make are from Fimo, the colored clay that you can buy at craft stores. They kind of remind me of those dough ornaments that we used to make in school - remember those? We still have at least one - of Snoopy lying on his house - though it's sadly crumbling to bits.

The only other tools you really need are cookie cutters, a pointy tool to make a small hole, embroidery thread, and an oven. (You can bake Fimo in an ordinary oven but you have to watch the time since the clay can release poisonous fumes; I bought a cheapie craft oven to avoid this problem.) Fimo becomes pretty stiff once you bake it so you have to do everything to the clay (DON'T attach the thread) before you put it in the oven.

On these, I mostly used leftover clay and canes from previous projects. (If you want to make your own Fimo flowers, google "flower canes" and some YouTube videos will pop up.) To make the swirls, roll out different colored sheets of Fimo, stack them on top of each other, and then roll them into a log. Then cut pieces off the ends; the width is up to you. Then you place the pieces next to each other on top of your basic shape, and use a rolling pin to combine the clay.

I love fooling around with Fimo - it's relatively cheap, the colors are bright and fun, and I don't feel bad if I throw something out. :)