Salt Dough Ornaments

Moving to a home office has entailed not only lugging home my computer and desk supplies but also an eclectic mix of other items, including kitchen stuff and Christmas decorations.  One box included a set of old salt dough ornaments from my pre-Sculpey years.

Based on their condition and a few with dates on the back, they all were made in the late 1980s.  I can see my current style hasn't changed much, although my proportions and detailing have improved a lot over the years.  Teddy bears and pandas are always a fallback for me.  One of my very first batches of salt dough ornaments was a set of teddies like the one in the lower right corner.  The white horse is actually a unicorn - but the horn never survived long on any of the dozen or so I made.  The rocking sheep were popular at craft fairs; I think people were fascinated with the garlic-pressed fleece.  Sadly, the lion on the candy cane has snapped and is in the process of disintegrating.  That's the big drawback of salt-dough ornaments - if there is any crack in the varnish, they start absorbing moisture until they fall apart.  I think these all have survived as well as they have being stored in the low-humidity office.

I'm not sure what I'll do with these now that they're home.  I have a friend who I'm sure would be more than happy to give the penguins a home.  I may need to put up a tree next year, just to have an excuse to display them (and scads of other ornaments I own).