playdough that will last forever

this is the same recipe that is easily available online and in craft books with some tips for success.

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

First, stir everything together really well before you start to cook it. That is a tiny amount of cream of tartar and it has to be well distributed. (Whatever it is that it does.) Then heat on medium low and stir all the time. Recipes will tell you to stir until it pulls away from the sides but mine does not seem to do this. The dough needs to get cooked through or it will be sticky so you keep on stirring it over the heat until it seems like it is changing consistency. The parts that touch the bottom will get cooked first and you just keep stirring until it all seems done. If homemade dough is properly cooked you can use it immediately with no stickiness or additional flour so just keep practicing. I turn mine out into a bowl and cover it tightly and let it cool, then add food coloring and have my children mix it in.

laundry starch putty

1 part liquid laundry starch (they still sell this at grocery stores in the laundry section.)
2 parts elmer's glue
optional: food coloring, glitter


This is a recipe that you see in any kid's craft book. The key is to make alot. Since it resembles silly putty the recipes often call for tiny amounts so you can fit your putty in a plastic egg. This isn't really that fun for kids to play with. As with playdough, it is better to have a large amount. I get a big jug of glue from the hardware store and use a cup of starch and two cups of glue. Then you mix it together well and let it sit in a ziplock bag or an airtight container and by the next day it should be perfect. If you keep it covered well it will last forever!

sand clay

1 cup sifted beach sand (or sand from sandbox)
1/2 tsp alum (look at a pharmacy)
1/4 cup corn starch
1 cup water

Your kids can help gather the sand and measure and stir ahead of time, then you should take over. Heat on a medium burner and stir it a lot until it gets thick. (Use an old pan for this.) Let it cool enough to use. You can store it in a sealed container pretty well for an hour or so if yu want to prepare it in advance. Spoon some out on a paper plate or a regular plate covered with foil so it doesn't stick. Your children can mold it into a paper weight or castle or whatever you want. It doesn't actually hold a shape as well as real wet sand so you can't get too detailed with your structure. You can press shells, rocks, other beachy stuff in (put glue under them. Just apply it right on top of the wet sand clay to make sure the stuff sticks well.) or shape it more like a mounded castle and make little toothpick flags to put on top. I saw an idea on thriftyfun.com to cover a picture frame with the sand clay and then press shells and stuff in to make a nice beachy frame. I have also thought about filling lots of ice cube trays with the clay and when it dried you would have these nice uniform sand building blocks to glue together to make a larger structure. It doesn't dry completely for a few days so try to leave your creation out of the way until your children can handle it with no risks. Once your sand clay is dry it is very strong.