Some of these dough recipes can be mixed together in a few moments. Other mixtures need to be cooked on the stovetop and cooled before giving it to children to work into projects.
Store all unused clay in a sealed plastic bag. The play dough should stay soft for a few days. For all the recipes, the finished sculptures will air-dry over a couple of days.
No-Cook Flour Dough
Quickly mix up a batch of this basic play clay.
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup salt
- 1 cup water
Combine flour and salt. Add water and mix thoroughly. Knead until the dough is smooth.
Cooked Flour Dough
This is another play clay, although this one needs to be cooked.
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon salad oil
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup salt
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- A few drops of food coloring
Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and use a wooden spoon to stir over medium heat. Stir constantly. The mixture will be soupy for several minutes and then will suddenly stick together and can be stirred into a ball. When the dough thickens, remove the pan from the heat and continue stirring. Turn the hot ball of dough onto a floured surface and knead as it cools.
Salt Dough
Roll this dough to a half an inch thick and cut with a cookie cutter to make ornaments or magnets.
- 1 cup salt
- ½ cup cornstarch
- ¾ cup cold water
Stir together all the ingredients over low heat. Stir constantly. In a few minutes, the mixture will thicken and will become too difficult to stir. Turn the dough onto waxed paper or aluminum foil and cool. When cool, knead until smooth. Add some water if it dries out as it is worked.
Soap Dough
- Form this dough into decorative soaps.
- 2 cups soap flakes (finely grate a bar of soap)
- ½ cup hot water
- A drop of food coloring
Beat the ingredients together with an eggbeater until evenly mixed. Shape and let the soap dry for several days.
Bread Clay
- Bread clay is good to make small, delicate ornaments.
- Dry, stale white bread
- White glue
Remove crusts and break bread into small pieces. Add one tablespoons of white glue for each slice of bread. Mix with spoon then knead with fingers until the mixture is soft and pliable. Add tempera paint and knead to color the clay.
Cornstarch Dough
Make ornaments, magnets, and jewelry with cornstarch dough.
- 2 cups cornstarch
- 4 cups baking soda
- 2½ cups cold water
Mix all ingredients and place on medium heat. Stir until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and cover the pot with a wet paper towel. When the dough cools, knead for five minutes, working on a surface covered with waxed paper.
Coffee Dough
Items made from coffee dough look like they’ve been made from stone. Use to make “fossils.”
- 1 cup flour
- ½ cup salt
- 1 cup used coffee grinds
- ½ cup cold, leftover coffee
Combine and stir ingredients until blended. Knead until smooth.
Tea Leaf Dough
Use tea leaf dough for bead making.
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoons used tealeaves
Mix flour, salt and water. Add as many tea leaves as the dough will hold without falling apart. Knead the dough until the texture is smooth.
Whether parents want to mix up a basic play clay for a rainy afternoon or make a stovetop mixture to turn into ornaments or jewelry, children will enjoy the different effects these clay give their projects.
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