Making play dough

Hasbro's Play-Doh contains many chemicals including Kerosene, petroleum distillate and borax. Even though the company insists the compound is non-toxic, it may be best to consider avoiding these chemicals anyway. With a little research I discovered a few good recipe's for making your own play dough at babyparenting.about.com.

Here's my personal favorite:

Nature's Playdough

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
2 T oil
2 T cream of tartar
beet, spinach, and carrot juice

Mix flour, salt and oil, and slowly add the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring until dough becomes stiff. Turn out onto wax paper and let cool. Knead the dough with your hands until of proper consistency. Use as is, or divide into balls and add a few drops of the vegetable juices to make green, pink, and orange.

Store it in a plastic baggie. It doesn't last as long as the name brand stuff, but it's easy to make a new batch when needed.