4th of July Flag Tree with Cornstarch Ornaments

I've been wanting to make over my spring tree. I wanted to do something patriotic for the 4th of July. Then I remembered the cornstarch ornaments I'd seen forever ago. I made the dough, cut out some rectangles for the flags and some stars shapes. I stamped some and left some plain. Then I left them to dry for a few days. After they were dry, I added ric rac for the stripes of the flag and hung them on my little tree. I used my blue painted mason jar filled with dry beans for the base.

 Cornstarch Dough Recipe

1/2 c. cornstarch
1 c. baking soda
3/4 c. water

Mix together cornstarch and baking soda in a pan, add water and stir. Bring mixture to a boil and stir until it thickens. It will look like mashed potatoes. Remove from pan and let it cool down, but keep it covered with plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out.

Using small pieces of dough, roll out and cut into shapes. You can stamp the dough or leave it plain.  Be sure to make some holes in your ornaments to hang. I used a toothpick. Let dry on a cookie sheet for a couple days, turning after one day. Or Bake at 175 for 45 min, flip and bake 45 more min.

You can see that several of my flags cracked. I'm not sure why, maybe it would be better to bake them than let them air dry. Or maybe it's best to make small ornaments because none of my stars cracked at all. But they were still usable, especially when I covered them all up with ric rac or glitter.

Here's a couple other styles I made that aren't on the tree. I'm thinking of making a flag/star garland with the extras. 

It was a fun project and now I just need to get out the rest of my 4th of July decor.

Have you tried cornstarch dough? What was your experience with it? Did it crack on you?

If you're interested in more 4th of July crafts be sure to check back later this week. I'll be sharing some 3-D paper stars.

Here's a few more 4th of July projects

• Wood Block Flag
• Bead Board Flag
• Flag Pocket Shorts
• 3-D Paper Stars