Play Clay!

 Jack and I recently made play clay. It was fun and easy. The recipe I used was from First Art by Maryann Kohl and it made a huge batch! Here is the recipe

• 5 cups Water
• 2 1/2 cups Salt – an entire container of Morton’s-style
• 3 Tbsp Cream of tartar — this can be bought in bulk at Whole Foods, or found in the spice section of big grocery stores
• Food Coloring: 1 tsp for pastel, 3 tbsp for vivid
• 10 Tbsp Oil — I use Canola, but any veggie oil should work
• 5 cups Flour

Combine the water, salt, cream of tartar and food coloring in a large saucepan on a low heat,and stir with a wooden spoon. As the mixture heats up, stir in the oil and then the flour.

Mix, until the dough comes away from the edges of the pan, starts looking dry, and it becomes difficult to move the spoon. Pinch a piece between two fingers…if it’s not sticky it’s done. Remove from heat. Cool until it can be handled.

Place on counter and knead 3-4 times. Store in an air tight container or large Ziplock bag. 

This recipe makes a pretty soft dough but it is easy for little kids to manipulate and it will dry out a bit as it is played with. Like I said it made a huge batch so feel free to make a half batch. It does store for a long time and I like having backup so I don't feel bad tossing some when it gets too gunky.

A huge pot of green goo.

                                                            Finished!  Time to play

                                 Jack thinks its pretty funny to stick the play clay to his forehead.