with the oven turned on

Despite all the heat lately, I just can't resist turning on the oven. There are too many good things that happen behind that creaky door.

Today, we tried out a new baking clay that was so easy to make and incredibly fun to work with.

Baking Clay

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups salt
3/4 - 1 cup water

Mix together and knead until smooth. (We used about 3/4 cups of water, sprinkling in a little more as we kneaded to smooth the dough). Make your shapes and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

We divided the dough among us and set about creating our sculptures, using knives, skewers, imagination and our hands to shape the dough.



Soon, a variety of animals, nature scenes and doll-sized bowls and cups were ready to be baked.



While the oven worked its magic on the clay, we mixed up a batch of our favorite chocolate chip cookies. I'm partial to all the healthy cooking and baking we do around here, but there is a place for a good ol' fashioned cookie, don't you think?

When the clay had cooled, we painted our work.



Some other things were painted in the process...

At the end of all that baking, we sat back with warm cookies and mugs of milk, admiring our new creations.

Yep, good things happen when that oven is turned on.