Homemade play dough

Why make your own play dough? Plenty of reasons: 

• Cheaper
• There's always the possibility of kids forgetting the commercial kind isn't really food and consuming it.
• Easier to clean from carpet (and if not, the uncoloured dough blends nicely with the usual beige-coloured carpet – so make sure you make dough that's the same colour!)
• VERY easy – and fun – to make with your kids!

Here's a recipe for 'Nature's Playdough', which I got off About.com. Turned out pretty well.

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
2 T oil
2 T cream of tartar
beet, spinach, and carrot juice

Mix flour, salt and oil, and slowly add the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring until dough becomes stiff. Turn out onto wax paper and let cool. Knead the dough with your hands until of proper consistency. Use as is, or divide into balls and add a few drops of the vegetable juices to make green, pink, and orange.

I also found a list of other funky playdough recipes here.