3 easy DIY recipes for stuck-home-thanks-to-haze fun October 16, 2015 00:34

Going stir-crazy cooped up at home with your little ones in the haze?  We've got quite the cure.

Here are some non-toxic recipes for homemade fun, that require nothing more than pantry ingredients you should already have lying around (so you don’t even need to leave the house to get some!).  As always, safe enough to eat (though I wouldn’t advise it)!

And don’t worry, they’re so simple your kid could make it - actually, that would help entertain them for longer!

1.  DIY play dough 

1 cup flour
½ cup salt
1 cup water
1 tbsp cooking oil
2 tsp cream of tartar (optional for improved elasticity and as added preservative)
Food colouring of your choice (optional; preferably organic or naturally derived from foods, to avoid synthetic colorants)
 

Mix flour, salt, water, cooking oil and cream of tartar (if using) in a saucepan, and stir over medium heat. Once the mixture becomes dough-like (which doesn't take long at all!), remove from heat and knead until it becomes smooth. Work in the colouring, if using, until you achieve your desired colour. 

With cream of tartar, your play dough keeps for a few months in an airtight container and a cool place.  Without, I’d say a month or so?

TIP:  To make it a more multi-sensory experience, I like to scent the playdough with essential oils or by using coconut oil as the cooking oil ingredient!  

IDEAS: 

  • It's not just about moulding sculptures!  Help your kid practise motor skills with cookie cutters, toy knives and other tools.
  • Introduce sticks, feathers, googly eyes and other bits & pieces to jazz things up.  (Idea courtesy of Sharon of Jelly Bean Attic.)

 

Source: minieco.co.uk

2.  DIY glue

1 tbsp cornstarch
Cold water
Boiling water
A drop of vinegar (optional as a preservative)
-

Add enough cold water to dissolve the cornstarch completely, and then slowly add hot water while stirring, until the mixture turns translucent and thickens to a glue-like texture. If you’re using vinegar, add it and mix thoroughly.

Without vinegar to preserve the glue, it keeps for 1 – 2 days in an airtight container at a cool place. Without vinegar (and the accompanying vinegary smell), it keeps for up to a week under the same conditions!

May seem unimpressive, but don’t underestimate how fun can a child derive from paper scraps, bits & pieces and glue!  

3.  DIY paints 

1 cup cornstarch
½ cup cold water
2 cups boiling water
Food colourings of your choice (preferably organic or naturally derived from foods, to avoid synthetic colorants)

A dash of vinegar (optional as a preservative)

Do the same with the first three ingredients as per the glue recipe at #2.  Then, when you’ve got the right consistency, mix in the colouring and the vinegar (if using) – because the texture is fairly thick, you will need to add a fair amount of colouring if you want more intense colours.   Feel free to divide the recipe up into smaller portions to use with different colours.

Let your kids paint the town red (or other colour) with their fingers or paintbrushes!

TIP: Mahjong paper is great for containing mess.

And while you are playing chief mixologist, why not check out some DIY home spa pampering recipes for yourself here?