Homemade Play Clay Recipe & Labels

I have tried a lot of homemade play dough and clay recipes over the years and the one I've liked best is this one from Family Fun. It has simple ingredients (flour, salt, cream of tartar, oil, water) and sometimes homemade clays can feel grainy, but this one is pretty soft and easy to mold. It lasts a long time and when it's a little dry, you can add a few drops of water and leave it in its container overnight and it softens up again. It's non-toxic so it probably won't matter if your toddler eats it for a snack, although I'm sure it doesn't taste good. :)

I made some jars of the dry ingredients to give to some friends for a little summer craft project to do with their kids and wanted to share it here.

To make the kits you'll need:
Wide mouth pint canning jars with lids and rings
Flour
Salt
Cream of Tartar
Labels (download here)

Print the labels onto cardstock.

Cut out the labels around the yellow line and laminate or use Contact paper or clear shipping tape to protect them (if desired). The rings will cover up the edges of the labels so they don't have to be perfect. I used a couple of glue dots to secure the labels to the lids so they don't fall off when the jars are opened.

Fill each jar with:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup salt (just regular table salt)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

I chose wide mouth pint jars because they are easy to fill and the lids are a standard size which makes it easier to share the labels. The dry ingredients also fit great in the pint jars.

To make the clay you just add the contents of the jar to saucepan with 1 c water, 1 t vegetable oil, and a few drops of food coloring. Stir to combine (it will be lumpy). Turn the burner to medium and stir constantly. The mixture will start to dry out and clump. Keep stirring until a ball forms, then remove from heat. Let cool until warm, then knead until soft.

The finished clay can be stored back inside the jar, but you have to dig it out so if you prefer it fits great in a quart size freezer bag or you can use any other airtight container. It keeps for weeks.