Sand Castles Anyone?

Today we are going to making something for the kids.  I enjoyed making things with my kids and then spending the day doing an activity with the kids.

I loved to watch them measure things, and then enjoy the fruits of their labor by creating sand 'art'.  This is a recipe for a 'special' day with the kids.

I have a few different recipes for sand dough.  I personally have not tried these recipes as my kids are grown and out of the house.  I hope some of you moms out there will try these recipes and let me know which ones you prefer and for which reasons.

Here we go:

1. 1 cup clean sand

1 tbsp. cream of tartar

1 1/2 tbsp. cooking oil

1 cup  flour + 1/4 cup all purpose bleached flour

1/2 cup boiling water

In a large mixing bowl, combine sand, cream of tartar, cooking oil and the 1 cup of flour.  Mix well.

Dump the boiling water all at once into the mixture and stir until the mixture forms a ball.  Mix well and use your hand to kneed if necessary.

Add the last 1/4 cup of flour to the mixture to get the right consistency.  Kneed it in well.  If it is too dry, add a little bit more water.  If it is too runny, add more flour.  Store in air tight container.

NOTE: If you use sand from the beach, I would be cautious and watch for children putting the dough in their mouths.  Not knowing what is in the beach sand, it may mold after a few days.

2. 4 cups sand

2 cups cornstarch

1 tbsp. +1 tsp. Cream of Tartar

3 cups hot water

Mix dry ingredients in a large saucepan.  Stir in hot water.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until water is absorbed and mixture is too stiff to stir.  Cool until it can be handled. 

For best results, use flexible, flat molds coated with Vaseline or sculpt with hands.  Store in air tight container.

3. 2 cups flour

3/4 cup water

2 1/2 to 3 cups sand

1 tbsp. white glue

Acrylic paint or poster paint (optional)

Measuring cup

Mixing container

Measure out 2 cups of flour and 3/4 cup water in a bowl.  Mix and knead into a soft and somewhat sticky dough.  Add 2 cups of sand.  Fold the sand into the dough - the dough will slowly take in the sand as you continue to fold and knead.

Add about 1 tbsp. of white glue.  The glue will add extra cohesiveness to your dough and allow for more sand to be added. 

Measure out another cup of sand and add it bit by bit, kneading the additional sand into the dough.  You don't need to put in all of the sand.  Stop when you reach the desired consistency of the dough.  In case you've added too much sand and the dough becomes dry, adjust by adding a few drops of water or white glue.

The color of your dough will be determined by the sand's natural color.  If you used light-colored sand, you may further color your sand dough by adding a bit of acrylic paint or poster paint.  Continue kneading until the dough is uniformly colored.

NOTE: the paint will only color the dough and not the sand particles.

Last but not least.

4. 4 cups sand

2 cups cornstarch

1 cup water

Mix together.

If you complete one of these projects could you come back and let me know.  I would love it if you shared your sand dough creations with me.

What types of things have you made for your kids?  Play-doh, slime, clay, finger-paint and more.  Let us know what are your favorite recipes.

Thanks for stopping by,

Kylara