Why pay the extra money to go to the store and buy play dough when you can make your very own using simple, common household ingredients? You and the kids can both have fun creating your very own play dough and making it any color you choose with a little jolt of food coloring.

The Ingredients

You will need two cups of flour, one cup of ordinary table salt, two tablespoons of vegetable oil, and a tablespoon of cream of tartar. If you don’t have cream of tartar nor know what it is, do not panic. You can easily locate it at your local supermarket. You will also need two cups of warm water. If you want to increase or decrease the quantity of play dough produced, simply keep the proportions the same, and all will be well.

The Procedure

Mix the flour and the salt together in a medium sauce pan. Next, add in the cream of tartar to help the dough gain a better consistency. Work the dough together with your hands. Throw in the vegetable oil now. It does not matter what exact kind it is, so don’t worry about getting coconut oil versus canola or whatnot. Keep mixing the dough together with your fingers. Finally, add in the warm water, and keep on mixing. Work out the lumps so that you end up with a smooth consistency.

Put the sauce pan over very low heat. As it cooks, you will notice it gets less and less watery. It will become more and more like actual play dough. It will pull away from the sides of the pan, and you will be able to roll it all up into a single ball of dough.

Turn off the heat. Make a hole in the middle of the dough ball with your fingers, and put food coloring into it. You can break the dough up into pieces and color each piece differently if you so choose. Now, fold the dough again and again until it is colored evenly throughout.

The Benefits

You and your kids can take part in an excellent learning experience by making this play dough. The ingredients are all natural and safe to eat. That includes the cream of tartar, which is a common item used by many chefs. You will save money by making your own play dough, and it will be easy to add more food coloring to it later if needed. Thus, you can stretch its life. You can choose the exact colors you want and can create colors by mixing different colors together. Thus, for example, you can get purple by combining red and blue.

Things to Do With Play Dough

Perhaps, we all know how to play with play dough. However, consider having a play dough party or setting up a play dough station at a toddler’s birthday celebration. You can stop by and show the kids a few tricks like making blueberries or elephants. Be sure to take some photos of the creations your kids come up with on their own and to store them in an album.