Best Salt Dough EVER

Lilly and Warren both love, love, love making things. It's a normal, regular part of our Saturdays. Last week, made collages for their Mom's birthday.

They cut up a bunch of pictures I had printed at Walgreen's.

Lilly baked this cake ALL BY HERSELF...and then, she frosted it using a ziplock bag!!

One of their favorite things is playing with playdough.  

The benefit to this salt playdough is that they get a DOUBLE benefit. First, they get to actually MAKE the playdough. Then, best of all, they get to MAKE things OUT of the playdough...

So -- here's the basic recipe (off the internet)...

BEST SALT NO-COOK PLAYDOUGH RECIPE:

Ingredients

1.5 cups of flour
1/2 cup of salt
2 tbs of cream of tartar
1 tbls of oil
Food coloring
1 cup of boiling water

Directions: Mix all ingredients except the boiling water together into a large mixing bowl Add the boiling water and mix well (Note, the food coloring will mix in better if added to the boiling water)

Please take care when using boiling water around children.

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Full disclosure -- we forgot to put in the cream of tartar -- and I don't think it made any difference. but maybe the texture of the playdough is better with that...I'm not sure.

Here's the thing...LET THE KIDS ACTUALLY DO EVERYTHING BUT HANDLE THE BOILING WATER.

Lilly and Warren got the bowls out of the cupboard (they were each making a batch)...and they found the measuring cups, and the measuring spoons...then they found all the ingredients and set them out on the table. (this is the point where I'm realizing I shoulda taken a picture)…

Lilly read the directions out loud, so both kids knew EXACTLY what they were going to do...

Lilly got dibbs on the color BLUE...so Warren was stuck with red, (which always turns out pink).

The most fun part of making playdough is the kneading...and kneading...and kneading. And that takes some time.  It helps if you stick the playdough into a plastic bag...then, the kids' hands don't get so messy...

The kids stored it in little ziplock baggies...and, if they don't let it sit out (it will dry hard), it will stay playable for months.

And I didn't tell them this part yet -- but if you LIKE the ornament and/or thing you make -- you can bake it in the oven. Varnish it -- and it will last for years.

Just ask the little pig ornament who's been hanging on my Christmas Tree since 1981...