Rainbow Play Dough: A Tutorial

As the kids get older, they tend to get themselves invited to some snazzy birthday parties. I've got a go-to list of birthday presents--on the super high end, you get a handmade quilt, if I'm on my way to your party right now, you get two blank puzzles at a pitstop at Learning Treasures, and if I was sick as a dog a couple of days before (I'm as sanitary as the next person, but I seem to get sick A LOT--faulty gene? Lousy immune system? Seriously, I get the stomach bug when not even my breastfeeding toddler does. Weird.) but I have a little time right now, you get my personal favorite, handmade play dough. Let the party begin.

Handmade Play Dough

1. Make your stove and counter top look nice and pretty-ish:

Eh. Good enough.

2. In a small pot, mix together

• 1 cup flour (the bleached white stuff--I buy cheap flour only for this)
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon oil
• coloring (optional). The cheap food coloring works, but you can get some amazing colors with professional-grade food coloring. If your kids no longer shove stuff in their mouths, you can even spring for liquid watercolors or powdered tempera!

3. Heat slowly while stirring continually.

4. When the dough becomes solid rather than liquid and tends to ball up in the pot, remove it from heat and pop it on a plate to cool off. While it's cooling, you can wash the pot out to cook up another batch in another color, but while your back is turned, I warn you, the baby might get into the professional-grade food coloring. Hello, yellow poop for the next three days!

5. When the dough is cool enough to handle, knead it some to finish mixing it and to get the right elastic consistency. You can also knead in some glitter, if you'd like, or an essential oil to scent it.

When you're finished, you should have enough play dough both for your kids to do a little play doughing, and this:

Happy Birthday, Phillip!

And so how was the party, you ask? It went like this:

Um, yeah, it was awesome.

P.S. Want to follow along with my craft projects, books I'm reading, dog-walking mishaps, confrontations with gross men, and other various adventures on the daily? Find me on my Craft Knife Facebook page!