Kid Friendly Craft Recipes and Craft Ideas

If you are trying to keep your kids occupied and don't want them spending so much time in front of the watching TV, playing games on the computer, or playing video games, then these fun and easy craft recipes might be just the thing you've been looking for.

There are a lot of variations on these recipes, but these are the ones we used when my kids were smaller.

Oatmeal Dough

Ingredients:
1 part flour
1 part water
2 parts oatmeal
This dough is very simple to make! All you do it mix all the ingredients together (with your clean hands) until it forms a workable dough, and that's it!

Cornstarch Clay

Ingredients:
1 cup cornstarch
2 cups salt or baking soda
1 1/3 cups cold water
Food Coloring

This clay is very gooey and is great for sculpting. Bring the salt and 2/3 cup water to a boil. Then get out a separate bowl and mix the cornstarch with 2/3 cup water. Next you'll add the cornstarch mixture to the salt water and knead it into a clump of clay. If you want to paint the clay with the food coloring, you should air dry it first, but be sure to cover the clay with a damp dish towel to prevent cracks while it dries. You can keep any unused clay in the refrigerator in an airtight container and use it later.

Peanut Butter Honey Dough

Ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup honey
2 cups powdered milk

You can have fun with this dough and eat it too! Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Knead the mixture with your hands until it's nice and smooth (make sure everyone's hands are clean). You can then form the dough into fun shapes and then eat them for a snack afterwards.

Kool-Aid Dough

Ingredients:
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 package unsweetened Kool-Aid

Combine flour, salt, cream of tartar and Kool-Aid in a medium pot. Then add the water and vegetable oil and stir all of this over medium heat for about five minutes. Remove the pan from the heat when the mixture starts to form a ball. You'll want to knead it until it's smooth. You can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator if you have any left over.

Salt, Flour, and Oil Dough

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 cup water
1 cup salt
3 tbsp salad oil

Mix all of the dry ingredients together and then stir in the oil and water. Add more water in small amounts as needed until you have a nice workable dough.

Salt Dough

Ingredients:
1 cup salt
1 cup water
½ cup flour

Mix all ingredients together and cook over medium heat. Remove it from the heat when the mixture gets thick and rubbery. As the mixture cools, knead in flour to make the dough pliable. You may need to adjust the amount of flour depending on how thick you want your dough.

Salt and Flour Finger Paint

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 tsp salt
3 cups cold water
2 cups hot water
Food coloring

Combine your salt and flour in a medium saucepan. Gradually pour in the cold water and beat the mixture until it's smooth. Add hot water and boil the mixture until it becomes glossy. Mix in the food coloring.

Dye for Rice, Noodle or Pasta

Ingredients:
1 cup instant rice, noodles or pasta
1 teaspoon water
Food coloring

Combine a few drops of food coloring and about one teaspoon of water in a zip lock bag. Then toss your rice, pasta, or noodles in the bag and shake it up until all pieces are nicely coated. You'll want to put everything on some waxed paper until it dries. After your pieces are dry, they're ready to use in the craft project of your choice!

Invisible Ink

Ingredients:
1 laxative tablet
1 tbsp of rubbing alcohol
Cotton balls
Household ammonia

Warning: make sure you supervise this project closely if you have young kids who like to put things in their mouth! Mash the laxative tablet into the tablespoon of alcohol. Be sure to keep mashing the tablet until it is entirely dissolved. Dip a paintbrush into the laxative/alcohol solution and write on a piece of paper. As the solution dries, the writing will disappear. If you want to make the writing re-appear, just dampen a cotton ball with liquid ammonia and dab it on the paper.