Craft Recipes

Playdough

Ingredients: 
1 cup flour 
1/2 cup salt 
1 tbsp. alum (available in the spice section of the 
                   grocery store) 
1 tbsp. oil
7/8 cup boiling water

Mix together flour, salt, alum and salad oil in a bowl. Pour in boiling water (have an adult do this part!) and mix well. Knead until smooth. Store in a plastic bag in the refridgerator between uses and it will last for several weeks.

Cooked Playdough

Ingredients: 
1 cup flour 
1 cup water 
1 tbsp. oil 
1 tbsp. alum
1/2 cup salt 
food coloring

Mix all dry ingredients. Add oil and water with food colouring mixed in. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until reaching the consistency of mashed potatoes. Remove from heat and knead when it is cool enough to. Store in plastic wrap in the refridgerator.

Craft Clay

Ingredients: 
1 cup cornstarch 
1 - 1lb box of baking soda 
1 1/4 cups water

Mix cornstarch and baking soda in a pot. Add water and stir - mixture will be very liquidy. Cook on medium heat until thickened (it will look like mashed potatoes). Place on a pastry board and knead well. store in a damp cloth in a plastic bag. It will keep for several days. This clay is great for rolling out and making Christmas tree ornaments, picture frames, magnets, cut with cookie cutters for necklaces, etc. Place items on a cookie sheet for several days turning every evening. Paint when dry. Once paint is dry, shellac if desired.

Sand Clay

Ingredients: 
1 cup sand  
1/2 cup cornstarch  
1 tsp. cream of tartar  
3/4 cup hot water

Mix sand, cornstarch and cream of tartar in an old saucepan. Add hot water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is very thick. This will only take a few minutes. When slightly cooled, form clay into castles or structures. Allow several days to dry.
We used this clay during Beach Week to make permanent sand castles. The children shaped their castles and then inserted toothpicks for flagpoles where they wanted flags to go. Once dry, we glued felt flags to the end of the toothpicks.

Squeeze Bottle Paint

Ingredients: 
1 part flour 
1 part salt 
1 part water 
powdered tempera paint

Mix together the flour, salt, and water. Separate into squeeze containers (such as mustard) and stir in desired colours of tempera paint. Mix well, attach lid to squeeze bottle and squeeze paint onto heavy paper such as cardboard or bristle board. It will glitter when dry.

Goop

Ingredients: 
cornstarch
water

Pour cornstarch in a bowl and gradually add water until mixture is wet. The goop will be dry to pick up, but will turn into a liquid once in your hand and will drip from the spoon if you are scooping it up. A really neat sensory activity. You can add food colouring or tempera to the goop, but I have found that it will "stain" the children's hands so I just use it white.

Paper Maché Paste

Ingredients: 
flour
water

Mix flour and water to a smooth and fairly liquidy consistency - not too thick, but not dripping either. Dip newspaper into the paste and take off the excess by running the paper through two fingers.

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