Squirrels as Household Pets?
I live near a historic mansion and plantation, which before the pandemic, gave quite a few tours of the grand old house. The family who lived there was known to have a white pet squirrel and the docents talk about it during the tour.
According to my internet research, squirrels were a common pet in early America. Benjamin Franklin and President Harding both owned pet squirrels.
The 1700’s was probably the apex for pet squirrel ownership. Squirrels were found in markets and wealthy urban families would adopt them as pets.
Squirrels, however, do not make good pets. They have a wild nature, will bite, chew, and scratch. Squirrels also have to eat a certain diet, including insects, to keep healthy.
I thought it would be a cute idea to make some faux white squirrel and acorn cookies to donate to this historic site.
I already owned the small acorn cookie cutter and I recently ordered a simple squirrel cookie cutter for this project.
How to Make Faux Acorn and Squirrel Cookies
Cookie Cutters and Crayola Model Magic Clay
I started the project by lining the work area with a piece of wax paper.
Using one package of white Model Magic Crayola clay, I kneaded the dough until smooth.
Then using a rolling pin, roll the clay out into a circle slightly thicker than 1/4-inch thick.
Cut out the squirrel and acorn shapes and carefully place on a wax paper lined drying tray.
If the dough is rolled too thin, the faux cookies might curl on the ends.
You want the dough to dry flat so I used a tray for this.
Rolling out the Clay with a Rolling Pin
Faux Acorn Cookies and Royal Dot Icing on Drying Tray
I also made some dots and lines to decorate the faux cookies after they are painted.
You always need a dot or two for the eyes or the ears.
Small faux royal icing dots also look nice on the tops of the painted acorns.
At this point, the clay cut outs need to be thoroughly air dried at least a couple of weeks before painting.
I’ll check on them daily for awhile to make sure everything is drying flat.
If you notice an end coming up, you can still press it down flat.
Squirrel and Acorn Faux Cookies on a Drying Tray
Squirrel and Acorn Cut Outs
After the faux squirrel and acorn cookies are totally dry, they can then be painted and decorated.
At some time in the future, check back with this Farmhouse Magic Blog for an update on this faux food project.