Play Clay

Haven't made this yet...but I want to and I will. Found it on a cute blog.

PlayClay

Squeeze, roll, cut, press, model, and play with this super soft homemade playclay that is a delight to touch. There are many commercial playdoughs and homemade recipes that are too hard and stiff for the smallest hands to manipulate, but this one is great!

Materials:

2 cups water

1 cup salt

food colouring*

4 tsp. cream of tartar

4 tbsp. oil

2 cups flour*

Method:

- Combine water, salt, cream of tartar and food colouring (.5 tsp for pastel colour and 1.5 tbsp for vivid colour) in a large saucepan.

- Cook on low heat and stir. As the mixture heats up, stir in the oil and then the flour slowly.

- Keep Stirring the mixture until it starts looking dry and pulling away from the pan. Remove from heat and pinch a piece between two fingers. If it is not sticky, it is done. Otherwise, continue stirring over low heat.

- Place the dough on counter and knead until smooth. Children will enjoy kneading the warm dough when it cools enough for them, too!

- When finished playing, store playclay in an airtight container or plastic bag to re-use again and again. Do not refrigerate.

* For children who cannot tolerate gluten or food colouring, you may subsitute rice flour for flour and use natural beet (red), spinach (green) or carrot (orange) juice for colour.