the smells of Autumn

My entire house smells of Autumn today, and I love it! I'm a big fan of cinnamon, so I decided instead of relying on my Spiced Cider Wallflower, the girls and I would do a couple projects using cinnamon. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Ornaments

I know this seems like a Christmas project, but we used pumpkin cookie cutters to make it more Fall-like. I was hoping to do Fall leaves, but all I could find in our masses of cookie cutters were the pumpkins.

Combine equal parts cinnamon and applesauce (store bought, homemade is too watery). Stir in bowl until a soft dough forms. Put on plastic wrap covered plate, gently smash out (or roll) to desired thickness. Cut with cookie cutter. Use a straw to form a hole at the top for hanging later. Let dry overnight (or longer).

note: for a more "sturdy" ornament, add 1 Tbsp white glue to 1 cup sauce/1 cup cinnamon; sprinkle counter with cinnamon before rolling.

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Cinnamon Playdough

This is just the basic recipe for playdough, with cinnamon added. I used quite a few shakes of cinnamon, so food coloring wasn't an option.

1/2 cup salt

1 cup flour

1 Tbsp cream of tartar

1 Tbsp oil

1 cup water

cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

optional: food coloring

*Combine ingredients in a saucepan. Heat gently, stirring constantly. When the dough has a good consistency, remove from the pan and knead until smooth. The dough will be HOT, so definitely something for an adult to do!