Cookie Cutter Christmas Trees

The cutest Christmas crafts for kids sometimes come in the smallest packages, and this easy clay project is no exception. Make a miniature winter wonderland with these adorable Cookie Cutter Christmas Trees! In just a few simple steps, kids can create a homemade Christmas decoration to adorn your mantle, windowsill, or table for the holidays. Once they have created the Christmas tree, kids can decorate it with as many clay ‘ornaments’ as they would like.

Materials:

• Premo! Sculpey®, 2 oz, Green - 1 block
• Premo! Sculpey®, 2 oz , Cadmium Red Hue - 1 block
• Sculpey® Clay Conditioning Machine
• Wilton Star-shaped cookie cutter set
• Largest Kemper star cutter
• Smallest Kemper heart cutter
• Baking dish

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 275 °F. Test temperature with oven thermometer for perfectly cured clay. Condition all clay by kneading until it’s soft and smooth or running it through a Clay Conditioning Machine for several passes on the widest setting. Fold the clay in half after each pass and insert the fold side into the rollers first.
2. Roll all of the Green clay out on thickest Clay Conditioning Machine setting, and fold to double thickness (about ¼ inch). Use an Acrylic Clay Roller to press the folded clay together well.
   
   
    
3. Use the third smallest Wilton star cutter to cut two stars. This will be the bottom of the Christmas tree.
   
   
    
4. Press the second star on top of the first one, being sure to stagger the points as shown.
   
   
    
5. Cut two smaller stars (the second smallest in the Wilton set).
   
   
    
6. Stack the two smaller stars (staggering the points as in step 4) on top of the two larger stars.
   
   
    
7. Cut two more stars the same size as the last two, using the smallest star in the Wilton set. Stack and stagger as in step 6.
   
   
    
8. Repeat the last step, again, but cut the two remaining stars smaller than the last using a Clay Knife. Stack and stagger again. You should now have eight stacked and staggered stars.
   
   
    
9. Use the largest Kemper star cutter to cut one green star. Stack it on top of the last star. Cut a star from flattened Gold clay, and stand it up on top of the last Green star. Cut several Cadmium Red Hue hearts using the Kemper heart cutter, and press them all around the bottom ten points of the tree. Roll several small balls of Cadmium Red Hue clay, press on the remaining branches (points). Bake at 275 °F for 30 minutes, allow to cool before touching.