Spice Mosaic Ornaments

This easy project was meant for kids, although it’s fun for grownups too! The finished ornaments are deceptively elegant and smell amazing. They’d be beautiful as a tree decoration or make a lovely gift. You can use any spice you like, but choose plenty that have a nice smell. You can easily cut cinnamon sticks into little curlicues with scissors after they’ve been soaking in water for a few hours– throw some into a simmer pot on the stove for a few hours for double duty. Younger friends can experiment with spices and playdough if the ornament is too much for them.   

Materials:

• Assorted whole spices (star anise, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, hawthorn berries, cardamom seeds, mustard seed, coriander, multi color peppercorns) 
• Air dry clay (white and/or terra cotta)
• Cookie cutters
• Skewer 
• String

Method:

Roll your clay out to around  ¼ or ⅜ of an inch.

Poke a hole with a skewer at the top (for string after it drys) 

Press the spices into the clay. (We found using a flat lid made it easier for younger children to really press them all the way in) 

Dry for several days and then add a string for hanging!