Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Building Sand Castles in the Air

Play dough is always a good rainy-day activity (we've had a bit of wet weather this past week) but this recipe makes the standard homemade playdough recipe even better.

It's made with sand and hardens up to make your dough creation look like it was cut from the rocks the way a real castle would be.

You can use regular sand from your latest trip to the beach or even craft sands in psychedelic colors if you choose but the recipe, colored or not, is the same:

2 cups sand
1 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups hot water

Mix everything in a saucepan (it doesn't ruin the pan but it's a slight pain to get it clean afterwards so you might consider using an older pan). Then begin to cook it on a medium heat until it gets so hard to stir that you give up and declare it finished. Let it cool a bit and it will be ready to sculpt into fabulous shapes.

Add some drawbridges and flags on the top if you're really looking for realism.

Sponsored by Pak Naks--decorate your stuff!

10 comments:

Jolanthe said...

Very cool! We'll have to try this one out with some excess sand from the sandbox!

Krystal said...

I think i've done a recipe semiliar to this one.

my boys LOVED it!

oh and the edible kinds are awesome for two yr olds

Flea said...

Awesome sauce! This is brilliant!

jean said...

Do you know why this calls for cream of tartar? Yeah, I know it's a silly question but I am curious. I actually have a small bottle of it and Alum(?) but I've no idea why. Something tells me it's from another "recipe" from you. So what does the cream of tartar do?

Heart2Heart said...

Michelle,

This looks like a beautiful idea for everyone in the family. I simply love it and can't wait to try it!

Love and Hugs ~ Kat

Anji Gallanos said...

Perfect activity for our next rainy day in. Think cream of tartar adds for softness?? Maybe not...just have always added it.

* said...

Lovely. The pic is delightful.

jubilee said...

I think I'll be trying this one! My chickadees will love it.

Mom of Two said...

Is this like Moon Sand then?

Lenetta said...

Interesting - this is a different recipe than that which I've seen for moon sand. I linked to it on my weekly roundup here. Thanks!