Homemade fun

This has been the scene at our house for several hours over the past week. Nathan's playdough had all been mixed together and much of it had dried out. So ... being the lazy (didn't want to load both kids up and go out) and cheap (didn't want to spend the money) person that I am, I decided to try making them some playdough. Many of the recipes I found online required alum, which I don't have in my cupboards, so I finally settled on this recipe, from here:

Nature's Playdough

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
beet, spinach, and carrot juice

Mix flour, salt and oil, and slowly add the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring until dough becomes stiff. Turn out onto wax paper and let cool. Knead the playdough with your hands until of proper consistency. Use as is, or divide into balls and add a few drops of the vegetable juices to make green, pink, and orange.

I did not have beet, spinach, or carrot juice readily available, so I used some of my icing dyes instead. They made wonderfully vibrant shades of play dough. I was worried the colour might rub off when played with, but it doesn't!

I've played with many sticky batches of homemade play dough over the years but this dough is awesome. It feels very much like the stuff from the store, although it smells a bit worse. Oh well. The kids have had it out pretty much every day for the last week and it's still as good as new. The recipe is definitely a keeper!