Home – made play doh and oven

One of the easiest playdoh recipes I’ve found using everyday cooking ingredients. I usually get kids to help make the play doh-they usually really enjoy doing this and then using it to play with.

Ingredients:

1 cup boiling water

½ cup salt

2 tablespoons cooking oil

2 tablespoons Cream of Tartar (you will find this in the supermarket where you find the cake making ingredients)

Food colouring

2 cups of plain flour.

Method

Place the salt and boiling water in a large bowl. Stir to dissolve the salt as much as possible.

Add the oil, food colouring and cream of tartar then the flour.

Mix thoroughly.

Knead. It is quite warm and may be a bit sticky so you can use soft rubber gloves if you like.

If it needs a little more flour add gradually kneading in well until it is well combined and soft but not sticky.

This will keep for some time if in a reasonably airtight container or in a zip lock bag. Doesn’t need to be kept in the fridge but it will keep longer when it is.

While all the ingredients are edible it is very salty so encourage kids to see it is not for eating.

A very simple home- made Oven and Hot Plates.

Kids love to build things and they usually enjoy helping to make this Oven.

You will need:

1 cardboard box approximately 29 cm x 29 cm x 19 cm (12 inches x 12 inches x 8 inches) that opens at either end. Have one end taped shut. Leave the other end flaps open and these will make the oven door.

Sheet of light weight Cardboard to cut out 4 circles (approximately 11 cm diameter) that will be the hot plates that will be glued on the top of the box.

Glue (PVA or craft Glue)

Duct tape or Packaging Tape.

1 deep plastic drink bottle lid

Stanley Knife or scissors.

Optional-Brown paper or wrapping paper to cover the box if you want to before you glue the hot plates on

Construction:

Cut one of the flaps at the open end of the box off and tape it to the other flap to make this flap big enough to cover the whole opening of the box. This is the Oven door. Attach the drink bottle lid to the oven door. Tape or glue. Now you can open the Oven door by lifting it up.

Cover the box with wrapping paper (optional)

Glue the 4 circles onto the top of the box to make the hot plates

Draw an on/off button next to each hot plate.

Draw an on/off button and a temperature dial on the Oven Door.