Homemade Play Dough

• Homemade play dough is an inexpensive craft that will provide hours of entertainment. In a saucepan, mix 1 cup flour, ½-cup salt, 2 tbsp. cream of tartar and 2 tbsp. vegetable oil. Slowly stir in 1 cup water, cooking over medium heat. The mixture will become thick and doughy. Scrape the contents onto parchment paper and allow to cool. Once cool, knead until smooth. Divide into portions and knead in desired food coloring. After using, tightly wrap the dough or store in an airtight container to ensure it doesn't dry out.
  
  

Homemade Salt Dough

• Use homemade salt dough as a medium for crafts where you want the dough to dry hard. Mix 2 parts flour, 1 part salt and 1 part water until becomes smooth so you can roll it out. Make the dough just before you are ready to form and bake it.
  
  

Salt Dough Bag Pins

• Attach pendants from baked salt dough to key chains to make identification clips for kids' sports bags and school backpacks. Roll out dough and form into shapes, such as beach balls and ice cream cones Add texture with toothpicks and poke a hole at the top of each pendant. Bake for two hours (or until hard) at 250 F. Allow to cool, then paint. Allow to dry, then thread jewelry cord through the hole and attach to a key chain clip.
  
  

Dough Menagerie

• Create a menagerie of animals using homemade dough. Start with plain white dough, then mix small batches with food coloring for a range of colors. Form a caterpillar by creating five smooth balls of clay, then string them together on a wire. Use a toothpick to create a smiling face. Create animals like dogs, cats, and pigs by rolling a large ball for the body and a smaller ball for the head. Embellish with additions like pointy cat and floppy dog ears, and appropriate appendages. Bake at 250 F for two hours or until hard.
  
  

Dough Beads

• Use homemade salt dough to create beads in a craft project you can spread out over several days or accomplish in an afternoon. After creating the dough, form into decorative beads. Experiment by mixing different colors of beads. Create smooth and round beads or long and squiggly beads. Make tie-dye beads by mixing food coloring with plain dough until the colors swirl together. Add texture by scratching patterns using a toothpick. Bake the beads at 250 F until hard. When cool, string the beads on ribbon or jewelry cord to create necklaces, bracelets or anklets.