Incredibly cool clays

Check out three great clay recipes that are guarenteed to provide hours of weekend fun for your kids excerpted from Weekends with the Kids: Activities • Crafts • Recipes • Hundreds of Ideas for Family Fun by Sara Perry (Chronicle Books, 2002).

It takes a grown-up hand to stir the stovetop mixtures, but the kids will have a great time choosing the colours and kneading the dough. Best of all, the resulting clays are soft and pliable, making them easy for even the youngest sculptors to mold into a masterpiece.

Tools of the clay trade
Here's a list of useful tools straight from the kitchen cabinet:
• comb, for making textured patterns
• cookie-cutters and plastic candy molds, for making shapes
• fork, for making textured patterns
• garlic press, for making hair, grass, spaghetti, and creepy crawlies
• knife (plastic or table), for cutting
• rolling pin, for rolling and flattening clay
• ruler, for marking or cutting straight lines
• straws, for making holes
• toothpicks, for making holes

Play-do!
There's a reason this recipe is the hands-down favourite of parents and teachers everywhere. Kids love it. It's easy to clean up, and it keeps for a very long time.

2-quart saucepan
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
5 to 6 drops food colouring, in desired colour

• In the saucepan, combine the flour, salt, and cream of tartar. Stir in the water and oil. Over medium-low heat, stir the mixture constantly until it thickens and begins to form a ball, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

• Turn the clay out onto a clean, protected surface. Let cool until it can be handled easily, about 3 minutes. Knead the clay until smooth.

• Add the food colouring to the clay, and knead until the colour is evenly blended and the clay is smooth. The clay is ready to mold and shape.

• To store, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and keep refrigerated for up to 6 weeks.

Makes about 1-1/2 cups clay