Weekend Crafts: Make Your Own Play Dough

Making play dough at home is easy & fun. Although it may not be too tasty, everything in this recipe is edible so you don't have to worry if your kids digest any of it! Since the directions do require a little cooking, adult supervision is necessary!





The Ingredients:
2 cups of flour
2 cups of warm water
1 cup of salt
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 tablespoon of cream of tartar (this is optional, but improves elasticity)

Directions:
1.Mix all the ingredients together in a pan and stir over low heat on the stove. Keep stirring until the dough thickens and starts to look similar to mashed potatoes. The dough will start to pull away from the sides and clump together in the center. When this happens, remove the pan from the stove and allow the dough to cool. If you find your dough is sticky, put it back on the stove and cook it a little longer.
4. Take the dough out of the pan and place on a silicone mat or clean counter. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth.
5. If you are going to color the play dough, divide it into balls and add a few drops of food coloring to each dough ball. Continue to knead each individual dough ball until the color is evenly distributed.
6.  Enjoy! The play dough can be stored in an air tight container. If it starts to dry out, just knead a small amount of water to the mixture and it should soften the dough back up to its original consistency. If it is over-dry, you will need to discard it and start all over.

Warning: Keep away from pets! This recipe contains a lot of salt, causing pets (especially dogs) to have a dangerous salt imbalance if digested.

Photo courtesy of MommyHype