Heart-Shaped Valentine's Day Ornament Craft

You won't think love stinks once you get a whiff of these sweet-smelling decorations!

Submitted by
Sonam Adinolf

Roses are red, violets are blue, these ornaments are easy to make (and they smell good, too!).

Ornament maker:
Your kid.
1 cup of applesauce
1½ cups of ground cinnamon
A big bowl:
Your kid's going to be pouring glue into it, so choose wisely.
1/3 cup white craft glue
Ribbon:
A small piece for hanging.
A drinking straw:
A big one, not one from a juice box.
A heart-haped cookie cutter:
Buy one at your local kitchenware shop or online at sugarcraft.com.
Rolling pin:
If you aren't the cookie-making type and don't have baking paraphernalia lying around, just grab a bottle of wine or olive oil. It'll do the trick.
Wax paper
Embellishments:
Puffy paint, glitter, rhinestones, beads—all optional, but nice for decorating your completed ornaments.

Help your kid measure out the applesauce, cinnamon and glue and dump it all into a big bowl. If the mixture is a bit dry, have him add a little more glue.
Let your kid go to town, mixing it all up with his hands as if he were kneading bread. (Then rush him over to the sink before he gets glue all over your sofa.)
Next, lay down a sheet of wax paper and help him roll the mixture out with the rolling pin or bottle on the kitchen counter or a table. You'll want it about 1/3 to 1/2 an inch thick.
Then have him cut out a heart shape with the cookie cutter. Depending on the size of your cookie cutter you may be able to make several ornaments by re-rolling the scraps after your kid cuts out the hearts.
Using the straw, help him poke a hole in the top of the heart (so you can attach it to a ribbon) and let the ornament dry. It will take at least a day or two, and could take more time depending on how thick your ornaments are. Keep an eye on them and turn them over if the edges begin to curl up.
If he wants, when the ornaments are completely dry let your kid use the paint to outline the edges of the hearts or draw designs on them. He can dress them up by gluing on glitter or beads. Try not to paint the whole thing because then it'll smell more like paint, and less like apple cinnamon.
Finally, help your kid string a piece of ribbon through the hole to create a loop for hanging.
Hang it up anywhere stinky, like your kid's shoe closet, your car or your bathroom. What better way to say "I love you" than to do away with life's offensive odors?