The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 4,690 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—6,500 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ
Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …
With visions of sugarplums still dancing in my head, I got up early to get a jump on the rest of my Christmas crafting in order to earn my beginner level Homespun Christmas Merit Badge. I had salt dough to make and also a triple batch of dog biscuits (I decided why stop at my own doggie and the other one or two I could think of when the Humane Society had plenty of biscuit-less four-legged friends?)
Since the salt dough ornaments were going to take the longest, I started with them …
Salt Dough Recipe
2 cups white flour (no one is going to be eating these—we hope!—so I used the least expensive stuff at the store)
1 cup salt
about ¾ cup of water
1. Mix together and start shaping. You can use cookie cutters or you can regress back to your preschool days and pretend it’s Play-doh (be still my heart, I LOVE Play-doh!).
2. Once you have all your adorableness lined up on cookie sheets, use a straw to pierce a hole in the top for your ornament hook (unless you made something other than ornaments, i.e. candlestick holders, a nativity scene, toys, a paperweight).
3. Bake at 200 degrees F for 10 minutes. Turn over (unless it’s a shape that can’t be turned over, of course, like my Christmas Tree Farm I got carried away with) and bake for another 10 minutes.
4. Allow to dry, and then go nuts with paint, glitter, and Mod Podge. Didja know you can even make your own Mod Podge?? I know. You’re freaking out right now, and that’s okay. I’ll give you a minute to still your crafting heart.
Homemade Mod Podge
1. Mix equal parts white glue (like Elmer’s) and water.
2. Shake.
Umm, yeah. That’s it. Guess it’s not really a recipe as much as it’s a life- and money-saving tip, right?
Since I got carried away with my Christmas Tree Farm (and then ran out of green paint, so I had to throw in some pink and blue trees), I got a late start on my gingerbread men dog biscuits. (Do try this recipe.) Never fear, I turned up Bing Crosby on the ol’ compact disc player and got cracking.
If you’re lucky, Fido will share.
Feeling very “Little Red Riding Hood-ish,” I packaged my treats in baskets and delivered them to the Humane Society, along with some salt dough ornaments for the staff and volunteers. I think it was one of my most favorite new Christmas traditions.
And for myself, I made a salt dough ornament in the shape of my newest Merit Badge and it shines at the tippy top of my tree … Merry Christmas, friends!
I made my annual batch of homemade dog biscuits for all the 5 dogs that are part of the family Christmas celebration. They always look so fun baked up on the cooling racks and then wrapped in bags to place in the stockings hung with care on the fireplace.