Soft Play Dough

I know there are a MILLION recipes out there for play doughs, but this is the one I tried today (thanks to Google). It turned out quite nice! It is soft and it doesn't dry your hands out like salt dough. I really like using the baby oil instead of cooking oil. It smells good and should last longer without going rancid. I split it into 6 balls, each a bit larger than a store bought PlayDoh can, and made them each a different color. Plenty for a few kids to share.

The original recipe said to microwave for 4-5 minutes and then 1 min increments, but it was soooo long that it *cooked* mine too much. I had to throw out the edges since they were hard. I've reduced the times below, so let me know how it turns out for you!

PERFECT PLAY DOUGH

2 cups flour
1 cups salt
2 cups water
2 tablespoons baby oil ( works better than regular oil)
2 tablespoons cream of tarter
liquid food coloring

Combine dry ingredients. Add water and oil. Stir well. Microwave on high 2 minutes. Stir again. Microwave another 30 seconds. Stir. Continue to microwave for 30 second increments, stirring between, until dough is the consistency of mashed potatoes. Cool it enough to touch. Knead in food coloring until dough is desired color. Store in an air-tight container or ziploc bag.

Homemade Play Dough

Here is a recipe for homemade playdough. If your "wee" ones are anything like mine, this is great because it's edible. I don't encourage her to eat it, I just know she will.

Ingredients:
1 c. flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 c. salt
1 Tbl vegetable oil
1 c. water

Directions:
Combine ingredients in saucepan and mix well. Stir over low heat for about 5 mintes. When mixture forms a ball, remove from heat. Turn onto cookie sheet and cool. When cool enough to handle, add food coloring and knead until smooth. Store in airtight plastic container.

Notes:
I have not tried this recipe personally, so if anyone finds a problem with it or has a good trusted one (I know some get really liquidy quickly), let me know!

Cute Kid's Craft E-Book for Free!

I've just scanned through this, but it looked promising. Most of the crafts look a bit more advanced than I like to take on with my kids, but there is a recipe for silly putty and how to recycle old crayon bits.

I swiped the idea from the Utah Deal Diva, which is a great coupon/thrifty site I follow.

There's a 50-page downloadable Kid's craft guide available here. Enter your "junk" email address and click "Skip Other Offers" and you'll receive a cute guide filled with tons of neat projects for kids!