Home made crafts for kids

MODELING DOUGH #1
1 cup flour
1 cup salt
½ cup water
Mix flour and salt. Add water and knead dough until smooth. Create desired shapes. Bake at 375 degrees. Time will vary according to the thickness of piece. Allow to cool. Seal with varnish if desired.

MODELING DOUGH #2
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 cup water
Mix flour and salt well. Very slowly add water to form a ball. Adding the water too quickly will result in sticky dough. Knead dough for several minutes. The kids will love to help with this part! Create desired shapes (1/4" thick). Place on foil or parchment covered cookie sheet. To make ornaments, poke a hole through dough using a straw or toothpick. Bake at 325-350 degrees for 30 minutes or until light brown. If dough begins to rise too quickly lower oven temperature slightly. Time will vary according to the thickness of piece. Allow to cool. Seal with varnish if desired.

FINGER PAINT
½ cup cornstarch
2 cups cold water
Food coloring or tempera paint
Mix cornstarch and water in a saucepan, stirring constantly to eliminate lumps. Bring to boil. Mixture will begin to thicken. Pour into several small containers (plastic laundry scoops, old muffin tins, and old film or yogurt containers). In each container, add a different color. Allow to cool before using.

EASY FINGER PAINT
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
Few drops of food coloring
Mix together in a plastic container, bowl or paper plate. That’s all you’ll need to entertain your little ones for just pennies! Best when used with finger paint paper, which can be purchased inexpensively at department or craft stores.

SALT ART
Salt
Food coloring
Construction paper
White glue
In a glass bowl (to avoid staining), add a few drops of food coloring to table salt. Make several colors in separate bowls. Squeeze white glue onto construction paper in desired patterns. Sprinkle colored sand on glue to completely cover. Allow to dry. Shake off excess salt.

SAND PAINT
½ cup flour
½ cup water
½ cup sand
2 tablespoon tempera paint powder or a few drops of food coloring
Mix together. Brush on or use fingers to paint.

NON-TOXIC STICKER GLUE #1
Now you can create stickers from any picture. On a computer, print out many colored clipart designs, such as flowers, sailboats, holiday designs, cars and trucks or use magazine pictures or photos. Personalize your designs by writing your name just above or below. Print onto heavier paper and trim. Decorate holiday cards or create personalized stationary and envelopes.
4 unflavored gelatin
8 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon peppermint or lemon extract
Small glass jar (baby food jars work well for this)
In a small saucepan, bring vinegar to a boil. Add gelatin. Reduce to low heat and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Add extract and mix well. Allow to cool. Brush a small amount of glue on the reverse side of art. Let dry. Paper may curl but will straighten when the sticker is applied. To soften glue after storage, lower jar into a pan of boiling water until glue dissolves. Warm one hour before use. Moisten the paper to activate glue and apply as stickers. Yields: 1/2 cup.

A few people on FB showed interest in this document so i thought I'd just post the stuff here for everyone to see. some of them are American recipes so you might have to google ingredient alternatives but they're great fun ideas for school holidays or SAHM's

BETTER THAN STORE BOUGHT PLAY DOUGH
1 cup flour
½ cup salt
1 cup water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoon cream of tarter
Few drops of food coloring
Mix all ingredients in a pan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture pulls away from sides of pan and becomes a large ball. This takes just a minute. Do not over cook. Quickly remove from pan and knead on kitchen counter until smooth. This can be stored in a resealable bag in the refrigerator for several months. Note: Double or triple recipe to create many colors.


PAT-A-CAKE BAKER’S CLAY
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1½ cup cold water
Mix together flour and salt. Add water to mixture and blend. Knead for at least 10 minutes, or use a food processor. This will ensure that the mixture will bind and not fall apart when worked. Form shapes with clay. If this is to be hung like an ornament, poke a hole through using a straw or toothpick before drying. Bake on cookie sheet at 200-225 degrees for 2-3 hours until thoroughly dry. Paint the finished pieces as desired.
Idea: Add fun uncooked pasta shapes, string, sequins, pebbles, seeds, beads, pipe cleaners, feathers, google eyes, magnets, or other art materials. Allow project to air dry as baking with these items would be a safety hazard. Once dried, paint the finished pieces as desired.


THIN PASTE


¼ cup sugar

¼ cup non-self-rising flour

½ teaspoon powdered alum

1 ¾ cups water

¼ teaspoon oil of cinnamon
Mix together the sugar, flour, and alum in a saucepan. Slowly add 1 cup of the water, stirring constantly. Boil until mixture is smooth and clear. Add remaining water and oil of cinnamon. Stir thoroughly. Paste will keep several months without refrigeration.


SILLY PUTTY
Mix equal parts of cornstarch and Elmer’s Glue. Do not substitute for other white glues.


HOMEMADE CRAYONS
These can be made and given as gifts to your child’s teacher or friends. Use theme molds for added interest, such as fish, flowers, holiday, or animal shapes.
1 cup soap flakes (Ivory Snow)
Food coloring
1 tablespoon hot water
Molds (candy, muffin tins, ice cube tray)
Mix soap flakes and hot water. Divide mixture into several bowls. Add your favorite color to each bowl. Blend well. Press mixture into molds and let dry for one week. Remove crayons and let air dry for an additional 1-2 days. To give as gifts, wrap several in pretty cellophane and tie off with a ribbon.


CRAZY CRAYONS
This is a cost effective way to use up all those broken pieces of crayons hanging around your kid’s room.
Place a variety of peeled broken bits of crayons into a muffin tin about ¼ full. Place into a 250 degree oven. When crayons appear to be completely melted, shut off oven. Allow to cool completely BEFORE removing pan from oven. Crayons should easily pop out when the bottom of pan is tapped. Experiment with color combinations!