diy / no crumble play dough

ingredients:

- 1 cup flour

- 2 tsp cream of tarter

- 1/3 cup salt

- 1 tbsp veg oil

- 1 cup water

- food coloring

play time:

- reuse a diaper cardboard box (lay flat for a placemat, easy clean up)

- cookie cutters, mini rolling pin, play doh knife etc. 

mix together ingredients (in a pot), wait to add food coloring. heat and stir over medium for about 5 min. it will start out a water consistency and then turn to crumbly. once its in the crumbly ball form, take it out and start to knead it. (a little hot for little hands). throw some flour on it if its too sticky, but not too much. 

so, there are two ways to color your dough. you can either pick one color and add that color with all your ingredients while its being heated, or if you want to have a bunch of different colors, you can add 2-3 drops per ball after they come out of the pot. its a little more messy this way, but who cares right? they start out looking tie dyed, the more you knead and play the more solid your color will be. depending on the age of your child.. you might end up getting one color even if you start with 5 different ones. but mixing dough is all part of the fun right? i love having a little helper. 

the trick to having it not crumble, is to keep it fresh and in a ziploc bag or a sealed container. the drier the dough gets the more crumbly of a mess you'll have.