Kid's Recipes

Bead Clay

1 cup cornstarch, 2 cups baking soda, 1 1/4 cup water..Combine ingredients in a saucepan, cook over med. heat, stirring constantly. When mixture has thickened to doughlike consistency, turn out on a piece of foil. Food coloring can be worked into clay when it has cooled slightly. Pinch off a lump of the clay and shape into a bead. Punch a hole through each bead with a toothpick.Leave tooth pick in the beads and stick them into a ball of clay for drying. Turn toothpick in the bead occasionally to keep them from sticking. Keep clay in the refrig wrapped in plastic when not in use...Non-edible

Best Cooked Playdough

2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 2Tbsp cream of tartar, 2 cups water, 1Tbsp oil, 1/2 small pkg. regular Kool-aid (for color and fragrance) Mix all ingredients in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it is too stiff to stir. It will look like a lumpy mess!!Turn out onto countertop to cool enough to handle.Knead into a smooth ball. Store in airtight container....Non-edible

Cinnamon Ornaments

1 cup ground cinnamon, 2Tbsp.ground all-spice, 1 cup applesauce, 1/4 cup craft glue. Combine spices in a glass bowl, add applesauce and glue. Mix well. Mixture will be stiff. Add water or additional cinnamon, if needed to achieve a clay like consistency. Roll out dough between sheets of waxed paper to 1/2 inch in thickness. Remove top sheet of paper. Cut with cookie cutters. Remove excess dough. Make holes for hanging with straw.Where needed, use cloves for eyes. Air dry on a flat surface for a few days.

Colored Finger Paint

1/2 cup cornstarch, 1 cup cold water, 1 envelope unflavored gelatin, 2 cups hot water, 1/2 cup soap flakes (like Ivory) Combine corn starch and 3/4 cup of cold water in a medium pan. Soak gelatin in remaining 1/4 cup cold water. Add hot water to starch mixture and cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil and is clear; stirring constantly. Remove from heat, blend in softened gelatin. Add soap and stir until mixture thickens and soap is thoroughly dissolved. Makes about 3 cups. It can be colored with 1 teaspoon Rit all-purpose tint and dye.

Homemade Poster Paint

Soap, warm water, food coloring; Grate the small end pieces of bath soap (Ivory is especially good). Mix with a small amount of warm water to dissolve. Divide the soap jelly into small containers. Use food coloring to mix the color of your choice.

Magic Soap Balls

Soap, water, Mix 1 cup soap flakes and 1/3 cup water to make stiff dough. Mold around dinosauers or other small durable toys forming an egg shape. Dry for a few days, then use. Surprise!!!

Tidal Wave in Soda Bottle

Fill one large soda bottle half with cooking oil and half with colored water. Tilt back & forth slowly.

Bubble Solution

6 parts water, 2 parts Joy,3/4 part corn syrup. Mix all ingredients together, store in covered container...(Joy works the best)

Goop

8oz white glue, food coloring optional,3/4 cup water 20 mule team borax, additional water. Combine glue, coloring, and 3/4 cup water in a bowl. In separate bowl combine 1 Tablespoon borax and 1/4 cup water. Add the borax mixture to the glue mixture, stirring until a blob forms. Remove the blob from the mixture, add another batch of borax and water mixture to the glue mixture. Repeat until the glue mixture is all gone. Knead all the blobs together. Store in air tight container. I don't add the food coloring, whatever color you add is what color hands, tables, etc, will be...kids love this no matter if it's white or colored.

Marbelized Paper

Supplies needed: Large bottle liquid starch, several colors of acrylic paints, two large flat baking pans or dishpans, a few custard cups, paint brushes, tools to create patterns in the paint: Fill one baking pan with starch to a depth of 2 inches; fill the second one with cool water. In custard cups dilute each paint color until it just barely drips from a brush. Drip colors on top of the starch until surface is nearly covered. Create a pattern in the starch using a feather, wire whisk, fork, wide tooth comb, etc. Move the desired tool through the paint in straight lines, geometric angles, circles, or in rays. Even if you just leave the dots of paint undisturbed, no two patterns will be the same. Hold a piece of paper by opposite corners and bend it gently so the paper sags slightly. Lay it gently on TOP of paint, do not allow paper to sink below the surface.Immediately lift paper out of the starch. Allow paint to drip off for about 10 seconds. Rinse paper in the dish of plain water. Lift paper out of water and let drip for about 15 seconds or until most of the water has dripped off. Lay the paper, paint side up, flat on a paper towel covered work surface to dry.

Gak

8 oz. water based school glue 3/4 C. water food coloring 1/2 C. water 2 tsp. Borax (Mule Team borax in the detergent section) Mix the 1st 3 ingredients together and add to the first mixture. It will be runny and watery looking but keep mixing and it will develop a nice smooth texture. Cleans up easily with water but don't put it on wooden surface, may take off the finish.

Clean Mud

Have the children tear up toilet paper into little bits (the smaller the better). Using a cheese grater, grate a bar of soap into a big bowl. Add the torn up toilet paper to the bowl. Add the warm water a little bit at a time while mixing the toilet paper and the soap together. You have added enough water when the mixture begins to feel like a thick cool whip. Do not make the mixture soupy. The more you play with it the fluffier it becomes.

Crayon Melt Picture

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Sharpen or grate crayons into bowls or onto pieces of paper towel. Place a sheet of wax paper (waxed side up) on a cookie sheet, and let the kids have fun placing the shavings onto the sheet of waxed paper. When they have finished place cookie sheet into preheated oven, turn on the light and watch as the shavings run together and make a picture. No two are the same. You can also fold the wax paper in half and melt by using an iron set on low heat. This gives you a mirrored image picture. Beautiful!

Bath Crayons

Here's a great way to get your little darlings into the tub. What you need: One cup grated Ivory soap (it floats!) 1/4 cup warm water Food coloring old ice cube tray What you do: Mix water, soap and food coloring together in a bowl. Stir until it becomes very thick. Put onto a table and knead until it is dough-like. Press into an old ice cube tray and let harden overnight. Pop out the bath crayons. Kids can write on the tile walls, tub or tile floors. You can mix different colors for your squeaky clean little artists. These crayons also double as soap! (Makes a great homemade gift or party favor!)

There was never a child so lovely but his mother was glad to get him asleep. - Emerson