How to Make Cornstarch Play Dough

Great for a rainy day or group project, this play dough is simple to make and fun to handle!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Hobby Paintbrushes
• Aluminum Foil
• Shellac
• Aluminum Foil
• Cornstarches
• Food Coloring
• Salt
• Tap Water
• Vegetable Oils
• Salt
• Fixative
• Cookie Cutters
• Cookie Sheets
• Cooking Spray
• Rolling Pins
• Saucepans
• Stirring Spoons
• Salt
• Saucepans
• Cookie sheets
• Salt

1. Combine 2 cups table salt with 1 cup cornstarch in a saucepan.

2. Add 1 cup water.

3. Stir constantly while cooking over low heat until the mixture is stiff.

4. Add a few drops of food coloring.

5. Allow to cool.

6. Make your masterpieces, and then bake them on a foil-covered cookie sheet at 300 degrees F for 1 hour.

7. Spray your creations with clear fixative or paint them with shellac.

Tips & Warnings

• Lengthen the drying time by adding 3 or 4 drops of vegetable oil.
• Roll the dough out to no more than 1/4 inch for cookie cutter shapes. Spray the cutters with cooking spray.

[cyndi13]

on 11/5/2007 can i use clear nail polish to clear coat this recipe?

on 8/8/2006 3 cups flour
2 cups salt
4 cups water
1/2 cup mineral oil
1/2 cup cream of tartar
Food coloring to color.

The cream of tartar and the mineral oil make the difference. Google for 'play dough recipe tartar' for other recipes. This stuff is non-toxic (cream of tartar is a food additive, look for restaurant supply places or buy it on the space rack) and while it might make you sick if you eat a lot of it (because of the salt), it has nothing in it that is not a food item.

Mineral oil won't go rancid, but if you are just going to use it and throw it away, you can use vegetable oil.

Basically you mix this and cook it over low heat or in a double boiler. When it is cooked, it forms the dough. Then take it off the heat and let it cool. Store it in Ziplock bags or an easy seal plastic container.

For a rainy day activity, get the ingredients, then you can make the play dough with your kids and they can play with it.

on 11/22/2005 You can just mix flour and water, and add a little salt. My friend tried it once, her creation was the best of all of ours! Use water sparingly, you don't want a runny mixture, but keep water on hand to add when it starts cracking.

on 11/22/2005 I never made play dough with corn starch, but I did make a substance we called oohblech in 8th grade. It was just cornstarch and water. As long as it was moving it was firm, but when it stopped it melted through your fingers. This made for hours of fun when I was younger.

on 11/22/2005 Use 1 1/2 c. salt, 1 1/4 c. water, and 3 c. flour. Mix salt with flour. Stir in water and food coloring. Mix and knead into a large lump. Put into a plastic bag or covered bowl. It lasts about 2 weeks.