DIY Playdough: by Artsy Farts Momma

Who doesn’t like to create shapes and objects with soft playdough? This activity helps developing fine motor skills with pinching and smoothing the fingers to shape the dough.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup salt
• 2 tbsp cream of tartar
• gel food coloring

Directions:

1. Pour the water and vegetable oil in a saucepan. Add in the flour, salt, cream of tartar and a teaspoon or two of gel food coloring. Lightly stir together to combine.
2. *The dough will end up being about the same color that it is now, so add more food coloring now if you want the color to be richer/brighter.
3. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly. It should be done in about 4-5 minutes. Because you might panic and think you’ve ruined it, here is a breakdown of what it looks like throughout the cooking process:
4. Minute 1: The mixture will combine, and look smooth and beautiful!
5. Minute 2: You’ll start to get chunks. Make sure to keep scraping the bottom and edges of the pan to prevent any pieces from burning.
6. Minute 3: This is where you might begin to worry that you’ve messed it up. Looks like a clumpy mess. Don’t panic! Just keep stirring!!
7. Minute 4: The dough will start to form into a ball. You’ll know when it’s ready when it’s not sticky and pulls away from the pan. You can test by pressing the dough with your fingers. It will be hot!
8. Remove the dough from the pan and place on a plate to cool.
9. Once cool, knead the dough. This can be done by you or little helpers!
10. To store, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in a sealed container.

http://www.artsyfartsymama.com/2013/03/diy-playdough.html