Thursday 20 September 2012

More Playdough! Even Edible Ones!

Where you ever wondering if there actually is an edible playdough recipe? Well your question has been solved! Here are some great playdough recipes that your kids can make a figurine, place it in the oven and eat it. How fun is that.

No-Cook Playdough Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup salt
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons oil
A few drops of food coloring
Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients very well and store in plastic bag or covered jar.

The next three recipes are each an edible playdough recipe, especially fun for small children because they can eat the dough. Use raisins, cheerios or small candies to decorate the creations then enjoy!

Peanut Butter Playdough Recipe

Ingredients:
18 oz. peanut butter
6 Tablespoons honey
Nonfat dry milk
Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients with enough nonfat dry milk to form into a workable dough.

Homemade Playdough Recipe

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
1 1/4 cups powdered milk
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup peanut butter
Directions:
1. Mix until dough reaches proper consistency for molding.

This playdough recipe needs to be baked when done sculpting because of the raw egg in the recipe.

Edible Playdough Recipe

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 package dry yeast
1 egg
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup shortening
1 teaspoon salt
5 cups flour
Directions:
1. Stir yeast in 1 1/2 cups very warm water until dissolved.
2. Mix in egg, honey, shortening and salt. Stir in flour a little at a time until makes a ball.
3. Knead 5 minutes. Make flat figures on cookie sheet. Cover with towel 25 minutes.  Bake 20 minutes in 350 degree oven.  Eat or shellac it.

Scratch and Sniff Paint

Your kids will be scratching a hole through the paper wanting to smell this dried paint.

Here's what you need:
Small mixing bowl
2 tbsp jell-O mix
1 tsp hot water
Mixing spoon
2-3 tsp liquid tempera paint
Airtight container

Here's how you make it:
1. In the bowl, combine the jell-O mix and the hot water with the spoon until the Jell-O mix dissolves.
2. Stir in the liquid tempera paint.

Here's how you use it:
1. Using a paintbrush, paint the mixture on a sheet of paper.
2. When your artwork is dry, scratch and sniff the paint.

Here's how you store it:
- Store paint in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days. Stir the paint a few times before using.

Tips and Trick:
- Choose a Jell-O flavour that compliments the color of paint you're mixing it with. For example, use grape Jell-O mix with purple paint and strawberry Jell-O mix with red paint.
- Although this paint smell delicious, it is not advised to eat it!

Basic Finger Paint

Yourself and your toddlers will love this easy to make finger paint. This recipe calls for soap so deffinatly no staining and washes up easily.

Here's what you need:
2 small mixing bowls
1/3 cup clear liquid dish soap
15-20 drops of food coloring
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp cold water

Here's how you use it:
1. In one bowl, mix the dish soap and food coloring with the spoon.
2. In the other bowl, mix the cornstarch and cold water.
3. Add the second mixture to the first mixture and stir well.

Here's how you use it:
Using your fingers, paint the mixture on a sheet of paper.

How to store it:
- Store finger paint in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1-2 weeks. Stir the paint a few times before using it again.

Tips and tricks:
- Get your toddler to cover their whole hand in paint and make fun hand prints.
- You can use old baby food jars to store paint in
- Use egg cartons and have a variety of colors.

Perfect Play Dough

You will never buy store bought playdough again with this easy recipe. There are so many variations you can do when it come to color, scent, texture and appearance. Get your kids busy and make some play dough today!

Here's what you need:
Large saucepan
2 cups water
1/2 cup salt
1/2 tsp food coloring
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups flour
2 tbsp cream of tartar

Here's how you make it:
1. In the saucepan, mix the water, salt and food coloring together.
2. Place the saucepan on the stove burner and boil the mixture on high for 1 minute. Stir mixture until salt dissolves.
3. Remove saucepan from stove and add oil, flour and cream of tartar.
4. Once dough is cool enough to touch, knead for 5 mins.
5. Store in a ziplock bag.

Tips and Tricks:
To make a creature you can try to stick spaghetti into dough and you have a porcupine.

Alternate recipes:
Gingerbread- add 4 tsp ginger, 2 tsp nutmeg, 2tsp clove, 2tbsp cinnamon
Vanilla bean- add 1 tbsp vanilla
Apple pie - 2 tbsp cinnamon, red food coloring

Crystal Shimmering Paint

Looking to make that snow effect on you artwork? This is a great paint for that. All you need is one main ingredient that we never think to use. Check out this recipe and try it at home.

Here's what you need:
1tbsp Epsom salts
1tbsp boiling water
Small mixing bowl
Mixing spoon
1-3 drops of food coloring

Here's how you make it:
1. Mix epsom salts and boiling water in a bowl. Add desired food coloring.
2. Stir until most of the salt has dissolved.

Here's how you use it:
1. Using a jumbo paintbrush, paint the mixture o a sheet of paper.
2. Set the paper aside to dry. When the water has evaporated from the salt mixture, shimmering crystals will appear.

Tips and tricks:
- Brush mixture onto holiday cards of pictures with snowy scenes to make them sparkle.
- Use black construction paper as a background for your artwork. When the salt mixture crystalizes, a night sky will appear, which will make a perfect setting for a spooky Halloween scene.

Friday 14 September 2012

Sand Sculpting Clay

Ok here we gooooo...... This little project was super easy and quick to make. Feels quite similar to play-doh and even molds easily. Now lets see what kind of creations our little ones come up with. Feel free to add a picture of your creations at the bottom.

Sand Sculpting Clay
This sandy clay can be molded and dried to make a permanent, stonelike creation.

Here's what you need:
Old saucepan or pot
2 cups fine, dry sandbox sand or beach sand
1 cup of cornstarch
Mixing spoon
1 1/2 cups of hot water
Oven mitt
Baking sheet lined with wax paper or aluminium foil

Here's how you make it:
1. In an old saucepan or pot, mix the sand and cornstarch with a spoon. (Don't use a good saucepan or pot because the sand will scratch it.)
2. Add the hot water and stir.
3. Place sauce pan on the stove burner. Heat the mixture on medium, stirring it constantly until it's like thick mashed potatoes and is difficult to stir.
4. Remove saucepan from heat.
5. Pour onto baking sheet and let cool until it's ok to handle.
6. Soak saucepan and spoon immediately.



Here's how you use it:
1. Mold the clay into any shape you wish
2. If you want to make a creation permanent, let it dry in a warm place or on a sunny windowsill. A large creation may take several days to dry completely.

Here's how you store it:
Can be stored in a plastic bag for a few days. Will start to get hard if left too long.

Happy creating!