play dough...

Charlie was in his own little world today playing with play dough. He cut the play dough and lined the little pieces up along the table. He made sculptures(I use that term loosely!) of our dog Missy, Frosty the snowman, and a house.
When I told him that his lunch was ready he said, "I not done yet!" Finally I just put his lunch right next to the play dough and he took a couple of bites in between creating all of his masterpieces. When Brenna came home from Activity Days and offered to take him outside he told her, "I not done yet". What??? He never refuses a chance to go outside with his sisters. Finally when it was time to set the table for dinner and he told me again, "I not done yet", I had to set up another little table for him to play with his play dough. I had to pry it out of his hands to go take a bath after many failed attempts to convince him that he could play with it again tomorrow.
This is the sculpture of Missy(our dog). Maybe it's only because I'm his mom, but I see a resemblance!
I promised Charlie that we would make him a fresh batch of play dough tomorrow. This batch was already starting to dry out but after these little hands played on it ALL day long, it's time for some fresh stuff for sure.

If you're using the store bought play-doh, you have to try this recipe. It is so worth a little bit of time to make it. It is so much better than store bought. It stays fresh soooo much longer. You can add color if you want. I've figured out that my kids really don't care if it's colored or not so I don't bother.

Here's the recipe:

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 cups cold water
food coloring
wooden board
plastic bag or container
1. In a medium saucepan, mix together the flour, salt, vegetable oil, cream of tartar, and water.
2. Cook uncoverd over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Stir constantly until the dough is the consistency of mashed potatoes.
3. Divide the dough into four equal portions.
4. Add approxiamatley 6 to 8 drops of food coloring to each portion and knead the color into the dough to distribute it evenly. Knead the color into the dough.
5. If you store the play dough in a plastic bag or airtight container, it will last a really long time.
(this recipe comes from MarthaStewart.com