Play Clay
1 cup Flour
1/2 cup Salt
1 tsp Cream of
Tartar
2 tbls Oil
1 cup water
10 drops food coloring
In a large bowl
mix dry ingredients and set aside. In a saucepan,
combine water,
food coloring, and oil. Mix well while bringing the
mixture almost
to a boil. Turn off heat and add the dry ingredients.
Stir until mixture
is a smooth ball. Store in a sealed container to keep
clay moist.
Note: Adult
supervision and participation is required for this
activity.
Sawdust Modeling Clay
2 cups sawdust
liquid starch
1 cup flour or
wheat paste
1 tbls glue (if
flour is used)
Mix ingredients
into a workable consistency. Mold into any creation
you choose.
Can be dried and painted.
Bread Dough Clay
6 pieces of day-old,
ordinary white bread
3 tsp white household
glue
2 tsp water
Parchment paper
Remove crusts from
bread, and cut into small pieces. In a large
mixing bowl, add
water and glue to the bread pieces. Mix with your
hands until a dough
forms. When it's ready, the mixture should be the
consistency of
pie dough. Roll out or pat out until flat on parchment
paper. Cut
into shapes with cookie cutters and set on a drying rack or
roll into beads.
Let the bead dry on a toothpick to form holes in the
middle and then
paint them with acrylic paints.
Note: Adult
supervision and participation is required for this
activity.
Salt Dough
2 cups cornstarch
4 cups baking soda
2 1/2 cups cold
water
Mix cornstarch and
soda in a pan, add cold water. Cook over medium
heat, stirring
constantly, until thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from
heat, cover with
a wet paper towel. When cool, knead on a waxed-
paper covered surface.
Shape and air dry, then paint. This works
extremely well
for rolled out dough to cut with cookie cutters.
Apple Cinnamon Dough
1/2 cup cinnamon
1/2 cup store bought
applesauce (homemade sauce will likely be too
watery)
Or, any equal portions
of both ingredients depending on the quantity
you desire.
Stir together cinnamon
and applesauce with a spoon until the dough
becomes stiff,
then use your hands to create a ball of dough. Place the
ball of dough on
a sheet of waxed paper, flatten slightly with your
fingers.
Place a second sheet of the waxed paper over the top of the
dough and roll
out the dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Use cookie
cutters or your
own template shapes. Air dry creations on a waxed
paper-covered cookie
sheet or a cooling rack for at least 24 hours until
they are completely
hard.
Tips:
-For extra sparkle,
mix in decorative glitter.
-Make your own
shapes by trimming the dough with a table knife
following around
patterns you've cut from cereal box cardboard.
-After cutting
out shapes, use a drinking straw to create holes for
jewelry or ornaments.
-Use toothpicks
to make smaller holes for threading. Leave in dough
until dry and remove.
-For a wall hanging,
thread a colored ribbon through the shape.
-For a brooch,
decorate with fabric paint and glue a metal clasp pin to
the back (available
at craft stores).
-Decorate creations
with acrylic paint or fabric.
-The creations
can be used as decorations on a gift box or bag.
Baking Soda Play Clay
1 cup cornstarch
2 cups baking soda
1 1/4 cups water
Combine ingredients
into a sauce pan. Cook over low heat, stirring
constantly for
about 15 minutes. After mixture begins to resemble
mashed potatoes,
remove from the stove. Put the clay in a large bowl
and cool to comfortable
touch before making shapes and free form
creatures.
Place all of your creations on a cooling rack for 24 hours to
harden.
Tips:
When making shapes
of fruits:
To make realistic
indentations in strawberries or oranges, roll the
molded shapes up
the fine-shred side of a cheese grater. For apple or
pear stems, use
a real stick or twig. To make hair for a goofy face,
squeeze clay through
a garlic press. After drying for 24 hours, use
acrylic tube paints
to give your creations personality. To color the
dough, add a few
drops of candy color which can be purchased at a
craft store (do
not use food coloring). If your creations should happen
to come apart after
they are dry, use household glue to re-attach the
parts.
Note: Adult
supervision and participation is required for this
activity.
Fruity Putty
0.3oz package of
sugar free fruit flavored gelatin
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 tbls cream of
tartar
2 cups boiling
water
2 tbls cooking
oil
Mix the dry ingredients
in a pan. Add the boiling water and cooking oil.
Stir over medium-high
heat until mixture forms a ball. Place the ball
on waxed paper
to cool then place in an airtight container. Cut the fruit
picture from the
box and paste to the lid. use different flavors of
gelatin for different
colors and smells.
Note: Adult
supervision and participation is required for this
activity.