Tip of the Day: Make your own Play-Doh

by Emily Matchar, Posted Jun 26th 2008 @ 6:00AM

Stuck in the house with a couple of bored children and nothing but a few pantry basics? Time for DIY Play-Doh.

Instructables has a good tutorial on how to make the classic non-toxic modeling clay. All you needs is 2 cups of flour, 2 cups of warm water, 1 cup of salt, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon of cream of tartar and some food coloring. This recipe suggests using scented oils as well - I never had scented Play-Doh as a kid (I probably would have eaten it), but it sounds like fun.

Just cook the stuff together over low heat until it resembles mashed potatoes and pulls away from the side of the pan, then allow to cool. Knead in the food coloring and scented oils and you're good to go.

Apparently the salt is not actually necessary to Play-Doh's structure, but guards bacterial growth and discourages kids from eating it. Funny, the salt was exactly why I sneaked little bits of Play-Doh into my mouth when my mom wasn't looking. Maybe that explains my current popcorn/potato chip habit?

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Filed Under: Food Oddities, Tip of the Day, How To
Tags: diy, oddities, play doh, PlayDoh, tip of the day