Playdoh

Ever since I was a child, I had seen and used home made play dough, but never before had I realized how EASY it is to make. 

We've been a name brand play-doh family since my daughter received her first tub a year or two ago with some dough crafting toys in a kit.  For whatever reason it always seemed very firm and not easily molded by her tiny hands.  Even after "working with it" for a while it never seemed to get better.  Then there is the drying, crumbling, clumping, and not moldable anymore, wear out factor.  After a few months we had little crumbly chunks of play-doh everywhere each time she played. Moms out there who can sympathize, give me a shout out!  

We found the recipe below and WOW I will never buy play-doh again.  It is so soft and malleable.  I found MYSELF playing with it 10 times more than I ever did with the store bought stuff.  It's simple to make, from a few all edible ingredients, and it makes a HUGE batch.

Huge!

At first I was wanting to divide it into several colors, but have discovered that having just ONE color to play with is also very beneficial.  We don't have arguments over which color to use.  We don't have the 2 year old, OCD, I'm gonna change my mind in 2 seconds, and now I want the color HE has.  I'm always a little tense about all the colors getting mixed together anyway...something I inherited from my mother and childhood I supposed.

Side note:  Just now, as I'm writing this, I can hear the kids out on the dinning room table playing with dad.   My husband JUST said, like as I'm typing this post, "I like this stuff, this is way better than play-doh" and he doesn't even know what I"m doing right now as I hide away in the office to "de-stress".

Which reminds me, my daughter plays with this home made recipe at least twice as long as the store bought kind.  It seriously keeps her attention longer and the sheer volume of one lump of dough greatly expands creative possibilities. 

Have I convinced you to switch yet?

Home Made Play Dough

2 cups water

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

food coloring

1/4 cup salt

1 Tbsp alum

2 cups flour

Combine water, oil, and food coloring in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil. 

(Don't add oil and water together after one has been heated, just a little something I learned from my chemistry days)

Meanwhile in a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients.

Once the liquid mixture is boiling, pour it over the dry ingredients and stir to combine. 

Knead on a floured surface to enhance elasticity.

Store in a air tight container or bag.

As a closing note, may I add that playing with the fresh, still warm dough, is very therapeutic.  You might just want to make a new batch EVERY time your kids want to play so you can enjoy it yourself.  I would assume you can half the batch if you don't want so much, or could split into multiple colors, but why bother when it's great the way it is!!