Arts and Craft Corner - Homemade Playdough

Playdough is the stuff of dreams where kids are concerned!

It doesn't matter how old we get, we all secretly love to have a little play with some nice squishy playdough!

If you buy it in the shops, playdough can be quite expensive, especially if you have a few children and they all want a few different colours each! Those little pots just don't stretch to cater for my four children, who all, always want to play with it at the same time.

The solution is simple enough.. Make it yourself at home!

Playdough is very easy and quick to make and you will probably have most, if not all of the ingredients sitting in your kitchen cupboards right now!

Not only is this recipe cheap, quick and easy, it is also safe for those little ones whom still love to put anything and everything in their mouths (although it won't taste particularly nice!) AND, as if that wasn't reason enough to make your own playdough, it also makes a whole heap of the stuff!

What you need:

2 cups of plain/all purpose flour
1 cup of salt
2 tablespoons of oil
1.5 cups of boiling water
2 tablespoons of cream of tartar (this helps the playdough keep fresh for up to 6months!)

Food colouring, glitter, glycerin (adds a little more stretch!) and food flavouring are all optional ingredients.

Method:

Put all of the ingredients together in a pan or bowl and mix until it forms a dough, then knead by hand until smooth.
Leave to cool before giving to your children (10-15mins)

Storage:

Store in an air tight container, a zip lock bag or even a plastic carrier bag (twisted tightly around the dough to keep the air out)
If you have used the Cream of Tartar, then it should keep for around 6months.



Homemade purple glitter playdough 'wedding cakes'!