Homemade Recipes for fun Kid Stuff!

[AMomfirst]

Recipe's for Goop

The cheap Goop recipe:
1 box of corn starch
4-5 cups of water
Mix until thick (add water or corn starch if needed.)

The Best Goop recipe (will last for months!):
Portion "A" Portion "B"
2 cups white glue
2 cups distilled water
15-30 drops of food coloring
1 tablespoon Borax
1 quart distilled water

Combine portion "A" and "B" in separate bowls.
"A" and "B" MUST be exactly equal amounts before they can be combined. [/SIZE]

Puffy Paint

Needed:
Shaving Cream ( amount depends on the size of the group)
Food Coloring or paint( Amount depends on the various colors wanted)
Bowls
Paintbrushes
Sponges or anything children can use to paint
A pair of hands
Glue

Mix an equal amount of shaving cream and glue..
Add a few drops of food coloring or paint to the
mixture.( Drops depend on shade of color)
Mix together.
Let the fun begin.

Soap Crayons

Ingredients:
Ivory soap flakes
food coloring
water
ice cube trays(plastic works best)

Pour 1/8 cup of water into a measuring cup. Fill to the one cup mark with soap flakes.

Mix until you have a thick paste. Add several drops of food color(don't have to use much). Press spoonfuls of soap into the ice cube tray. You can repeat this with several different colors. Let dry for a few days(over the weekend works well).

Silly Putty (Slime)

Ingredients:
Elmer's glue
liquid starch

Mix equal parts of Elmer's glue and liquid starch and knead. Don't give up-you may have to add more glue and knead some more. If it is sticky add more liquid starch. If it is stringy add more Elmer's glue. Can add food coloring and store in an air-tight container.

Can leave it white and let the children use markers on it.

Note: This may stick to clothes and hair. Children need to wear paint shirts. If any of the silly putty sticks to a child's clothes or hair use white vinegar to remove it. The white vinegar dissolves the silly putty.

Sun Clay

Ingredients:
2 cups salt
1 cup cornstarch
water

Mix the salt and 2/3 cup water in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring until the salt is dissolved. Remove from heat. In a separate bowl, slowly add 1/2 cup water to the cornstarch. Stir until smooth, then add to the salt mixture. Return to low heat and cook until smooth, stirring frequently. Store in a sealed plastic bag.

Place the clay on a tray or paper plate and have children work outdoors or in a sunny area indoors. Give children a lump of clay to model. Children may decorate their sun sculptures with small stones, leaves etc..

Place the finished items in the sun to dry. Challenge children o predict how long it will take for the sculptures to dry. When this clay hardens in the sun, it won't crumble.

Squeezy Bottle Glitter

Ingredients:
1 part flour
1 part salt
1 part water
food coloring

Mix equal parts of flour, salt, and water. Pour into plastic squeeze bottles, such as those used for mustard and ketchup. Add food coloring for variety. Squeeze onto heavy construction paper or cardboard. The salt gives the designs a glistening quality when dry.

May want to remind children to make a design and not huge lakes of squeezy glitter.

Lakes of squeezy glitter take forever to dry.


Playdough Recipes
The secret ingredient here is cream of tartar. This recipe makes play dough that is not grainy like uncooked play dough and keeps for a long time.

Play Dough Recipe #1
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 cups water
4 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup cream of tartar
Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan. Cook and stir over low/medium heat until play dough is completely formed and no longer sticky. Allow to cool slightly before storing in an air tight container or zip lock bag.

Variations:
Add one package of unsweetened powdered Kool-Aid to your playdough to give it a great smell.

Playdough Recipe #2

1 c Flour
1/2 c Salt
1 c Water
2 tsp. Cream of Tartar
1 tsp. Salad Oil
Food Coloring

Mix together all ingredients and cook for 3 minutes over low heat. Stir well. Add food coloring. Store in a plastic container. Kids love it and it is easier to clean up.

Playdough Recipe #3

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
3 tbsp oil
1 package of Koolaid (for color and scent)
1/2 cup of water

This is a great recipe, keep it in the fridge and if it gets too sticky after a while you just add a bit of flour to it! Keep it in an air tight container.

Playdough Recipe #4

1 C. Flour
1/2 C. Salt
2 Tbsps cream of tarter
2 Tsp cooking oil
1 C. water with food coloring

Combine ingredients and put on warm heat in saucepan. Heat till thickens, remove and knead.

Playdough Recipe #5

It can be used over and over and lasts for weeks. A child just learning to model will appreciate how soft and cooperative it feels in her hands, especially when it's warm.
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Food coloring (for vibrant colors, use cake decorating paste)
Mix the flour, water, salt, oil and cream of tartar in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until it holds together (keep mixing or it will stick to the bottom of the pan). When the clay is cool enough to touch, knead it on a floured surface and add the food coloring. Store in an airtight container such as a Ziploc baggie or plastic container.

EGGSHELL CHALK
This chalk is for drawing on sidewalks only, not for chalkboards.
You will need:

The shells of 6 eggs
1 tsp very hot water from the tap
1 tsp flour

Wash the eggshells well, so they don't have any egg left in them. Dry them and grind them with a rock on the sidewalk or other concrete surface. Make sure the rock you're using for grinding is clean so you don't get dirt ground in with the eggshells. Grind the eggshells into a fine powder. You'll need one soupspoonful of this powder to make a stick of chalk.
When you have enough powder to make a stick of chalk, sift or pick out any little bits of eggshell that are still not ground up and throw them away. Scoop the powder into a cup or paper towel and bring it into the house for the next part.

Stir the flour and hot water together in a small dish to make a paste. Put the soupspoonful of eggshell powder into the paste and mix well. It may help to mash it with the back of the spoon. Add a few drops of food coloring if you want colored chalk.

Shape this mixture into a chalk stick. Then roll it up in a strip of paper towel and set aside to dry. (Drying takes about three days.) Then just peel the paper off one end and you're ready for some sidewalk art.

For really big sticks of chalk, try making 3 times this recipe, and stuff the mixture into an old toilet paper tube. When it's dry, you can peel away the cardboard as you use it.

How To Make Paints:

BASIC PAINT
8 tsp. powered paint
1 tsp. white glue
2 tbsp. liquid starch
3 drops oil of cloves (obtainable from any drug store)

INSTANT PAINTS
Recipe 1
Mix a few drops of food coloring to a small amount of liquid starch.
Recipe 2
Mix egg yolk, dry detergent and food coloring. May be used on glass, foil or shiny paper.

FINGERPAINTS
Recipe 1
Mix 1 1/2 cups starch with enough cold water to make a paste. Slowly add 4 cups boiling water, stirring constantly. Cook until clear, avoiding too hot a fire. While still warm, stir in 1 1/2 cups soapflakes. Add 2 tablespoons glycerine. Add food coloring to portion which will be used immediately and store the remainder in the refrigerator in a covered jar. These paints work best on glazed paper such as shelf paper.

Recipe 2
In a double boiler, mix 1 cup cornstarch (or laundry starch) with enough cold water to form a smooth, thin paste. Add 1 cup flaked soap chips and 1/2 cup salt (which acts like preservative). Add 1 quart water and cook until thick (increase amount of water if necessary). Beat with an egg beater, and place mixture in empty baby food jars, adding food coloring to each jar.

One teaspoon glycerine makes mixture more pliable and easier on the hands. Vanilla or oil of cloves can be added to mixture to create a nice smell.

Recipe 3
Mix 6 tablespoon dry laundry starch with just enough cold water to make mixture liquid and smooth. Pour this mixture slowly into 1 quart boiling water, stirring well until thick. Add a drop of oil of cloves and mix again. Divide into portions (a muffin pan is a good holder) and add food coloring.

Microwave Finger Paints
In a large bowl, place 1/2 cup cornstarch and stir in 1 cup water. Then add 2 more cups water. Microwave on high 8-9 minutes or until thickened, stirring every 2 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup thickened mixture into each of six small bowls. Add desired food coloring. Allow to cool before using.

Papier Mache
You can make all kinds of things with papier mache! As it dries it hardens over whatever mold you form it on. Items you can make puppet heads (using small balloons as molds), pinatas, dolls, boxes, bowls, even papier mache houses (made in pieces and glued together). The final product can be painted, decoupaged or decorated just about anyway you want.
To make the paste:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups cold water
2 cups boiling water
3 tbsp. sugar

1. Mix together flour and cold water in a bowl. Add this mixture to the boiling water and allow it to return to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar. As the mixture cools it will thicken as it does.

You can also just make a quicky paste by putting flour in a bowl and adding water until you have kind of a soupy paste.

If you're planning to make something you want to last for years and years, be aware that flour paste can get moldy, especially in humid environments. You might want to try using powdered wall paper non-pourous adhesive (Note: please read waring on carton) mixed with water. It comes in milk carton type containers and you can find it anywhere wallpaper is sold.

Be sure to cover your work area with lots of newspaper or wax paper - papier mache can get very messy!

To make your shape:

Tear (don't cut) narrow strips of newspaper or newsprint. Narrower strips work best when using a rounded mold... for flat or rectangular surfaces, larger strips are ok. Dip the strips into the paste, coating completely. As you lift the strip out, run it between your thumb and forefinger to squeeze out excess paste. Then drape the strip across your mold. Overlap strips slightly as you go - the torn edges will blend together and your final product will have a smoother finish. You may need more than one layer of paper. It's best to allow each layer to dry before putting another on - this means some projects could take several days!

SOAP-BUBBLE BLOWING LIQUID
Recipe:
4 cups water
12 teaspoons glycerine
8 teaspoons liquid tincture of green soap (available from drugstore but as a substitute, grate or grind very pure toilet soap and use 8 teaspoons of the resulting powder)

1. Mix together gently:
2. Let liquid stand for 24 hours before using.
3. Pour soap bubble liquid into a large tub or bucket.
4. Bend a wire hanger into a hoop.
5. Hold it by the handle and dip into the liquid.
6. Raise it up slowly and wave it through the air gently to make really BIG bubbles!

Window Clings
Try this easy recipe for window clings:
regular white paper glue
food coloring of your choice
clear film (transparency sheets work well)
patterns

1. Mix a few drops of food coloring to the white glue bottle and mix well.
2. Put your design under the clear film and trace over it with a continuous bead of glue and fill in.
3. Let dry for at least 12 hours. Peel your work of art off of the film and place on any glass surface.
4. Store between sheets of plastic wrap in a cool place.

Pine Cone Bird Feeder
This is a simple project even very young children can do by themselves.

You will need:
Large pine cones
Corn Meal
Shortening (or bacon fat, melted suet, etc.)
Bird seed and/or bread crumbs
Cake pan
String or yarn

Mix Corn meal and shortening. Spread mixture thickly into the crevices and all over the pine cone. Pour bird seed and/or bread crumbs into the cake pan. Dip and roll the pine cone in the bird seed so that it sticks to the mixture and covers the pine cone.
Let this harden overnight, then tie a piece of string or yarn to the very top of the pine cone. Loop the string under the topmost "leaves" of the pine cone and tie a knot in the top. Hang the bird feeder on a tree branch in the yard, and watch the birds flock in!

Potato Prints Stencils

What you need:
Large potato, cut in half
Pencil
Knife for cutting shape
Acrylic paints or different colored ink stamp pads
Paper
1. Cut the potato in half and pat it dry with a paper towel.
2. Using a pencil, draw an outline of a shape on the cut surface of the potato. Simple shapes work best.
3. Carefully cut away the area outside your shape. Cut around the shape and then out to the sides so that the pieces come out, and cut down about 1 inch.
4. Pat the surface of the potato dry. Put some paint into a tray or plate, and dip the potato shape into it, OR press the shape into a colored stamp pad.
5. Press the potato gently straight down onto the paper, then lift it straight up, so that it will not smudge.