Kid stuff

Those of you astute enough may have noticed a new list of links.

Crafts are pretty big in this house. Recently, I was looking up recipes to make our own play dough. I was astonished (and appalled) to learn that 900 million pounds - or 2 billion cans! - of Play-Doh compound have been produced in the last 50 years. According to Howstuffworks.com, that's enough to stretch from Earth to the moon about 10 times when extruded through the Fun Factory.

Seriously, that's a lot of Doh that eventually finds it's way to landfills. Does it biodegrade, I wonder. It is non-toxic, being made up of a starch-based binder, water and salt (it also contains an unidentified surfactant, lubricant and preservative). As this is not an environmental blog (check out Mom Go Green for that), let's just say that we're more enthusiastic about experimenting with home-made versions and leave it at that.

Here are some favorite recipes - and you don't have to be a kid or have kids to appreciate how fun it truly is to mold, shape, mash, cut and roll.

Traditional Play Dough (from Teachnet)

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1/4 cup salt
• food coloring

Mix all ingredients, adding food coloring last. Stir over medium heat until smooth. Remove from pan and knead until blended smooth. Place in plastic bag or airtight container when cooled. Will last for a long time.

Slippery Slime (a Tide Pool favorite)

1/4 cup White Glue
1 1/4 cup Water, divided
1 tbsp. Borax - found in the laundry detergent aisle of your grocery store
Food Coloring

Borax is available in the laundry section of your local grocery store. Add 1 tbsp. Borax to one cup of warm water. Stir until completely dissolved.

Make a 50% water 50% white glue solution by taking 1/4 cup of each and mix thoroughly.

In a ziploc bag, add equal parts of the borax solution to equal parts of the glue solution. (Half cup of each will make a cup of slime.)

Add a couple drops of food coloring. Seal bag and knead the mixture.

If slime is too sticky, add a little more borax. If slime is too slippery, add a little more white glue solution.