Homemade Clay-Dough & Fossils
Summer vacation is upon us – which means it’s time to keep the kids busy all day long! We have one kiddo who isn’t old enough for camp yet (Sofia) and another kiddo (Gabe) who has a week and half before camp starts. We have been baking, crafting, running through sprinklers, swimming, and more! This particular activity is a lot of fun and very versatile.
The recipe below is for something that I lovingly call Clay-Dough and it is my favorite alternative to salt dough. We have dogs, and salt dough is dangerous for animals and kids who may eat the dough. It sounds silly, but little kids and animals are really good at putting things in their mouths and eating things that they shouldn’t. I’m a better safe than sorry kind of mama. 🙂 Not to mention, it is fun to make, easy to play with, you can make so many things, bake it, paint it, and more! Scroll down for the recipe and how to!
If you have a child or children who happen to like dinosaurs, grab any plastic figurines and use them to press feet, spikes, tails, etc. into the Clay-Dough and make your own fossils! It is so much fun and really easy! Please share this post with others and comment with questions or how it goes if you give it try! I would love to hear from you! Have fun, happy Summer and enjoy! xo
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Baking Soda
- 1/2 Cup Corn Starch
- 3/4 Cup Water
- Sauce Pan
- Baking pans
- Parchment or silicone sheets
- Plastic dinosaurs
- Cookie cutters (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175 -200 degrees F (depending on how low your oven goes).
- In a sauce pan combine the cornstarch, baking soda, and water. Stir over medium heat. After about 4 minutes or so, the mixture will begin to thicken. When it looks like instant mashed potatoes, turn off the heat and use a big spoon to put the Clay-Dough into a bowl. Cover it with a damp cloth to keep it moist until it is cool enough to handle.
- When it’s cool, place it on a piece of parchment or silicone mat. You can add a little more cornstarch if it feels too sticky (similar to how you would add flour to sugar cookie dough if too sticky to work with).
- Use a rolling pin to flatten it to about 1/4″ thick and use cookie cutters to make shapes. You can also roll into small balls and flatten with your hands (my kiddos did both).
- Push the plastic dinosaurs into the Clay-Dough to make fossils. We pushed their feet, spikes, tails, ribs, spines, etc. into the Clay-Dough and it looks so cool!
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper or use silicone baking sheets. Transfer your shapes/fossils to the baking sheet(s). Bake them for about an hour, turning them over halfway through cooking. Some of ours were a little thick in the middle and not completely hard after an hour of baking, so we let those air dry overnight.
- Enjoy your super cool creations! You can make this Clay-Dough for homemade ornaments, little figurines, sculptures, etc. Let your kids have fun using their imaginations! 🙂 xo
About The Author
Chirag Diyora
Summer vacation is upon us – which means it’s time to keep the kids busy all day long! We have one kiddo who isn’t old enough for camp yet (Sofia) and another kiddo (Gabe) who has a week and half before camp starts. We have been baking, crafting, running through sprinklers, swimming, and more! This particular activity is a lot of fun and very versatile.
The recipe below is for something that I lovingly call Clay-Dough and it is my favorite alternative to salt dough. We have dogs, and salt dough is dangerous for animals and kids who may eat the dough. It sounds silly, but little kids and animals are really good at putting things in their mouths and eating things that they shouldn’t. I’m a better safe than sorry kind of mama. 🙂 Not to mention, it is fun to make, easy to play with, you can make so many things, bake it, paint it, and more! Scroll down for the recipe and how to!
If you have a child or children who happen to like dinosaurs, grab any plastic figurines and use them to press feet, spikes, tails, etc. into the Clay-Dough and make your own fossils! It is so much fun and really easy! Please share this post with others and comment with questions or how it goes if you give it try! I would love to hear from you! Have fun, happy Summer and enjoy! xo
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Baking Soda
- 1/2 Cup Corn Starch
- 3/4 Cup Water
- Sauce Pan
- Baking pans
- Parchment or silicone sheets
- Plastic dinosaurs
- Cookie cutters (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175 -200 degrees F (depending on how low your oven goes).
- In a sauce pan combine the cornstarch, baking soda, and water. Stir over medium heat. After about 4 minutes or so, the mixture will begin to thicken. When it looks like instant mashed potatoes, turn off the heat and use a big spoon to put the Clay-Dough into a bowl. Cover it with a damp cloth to keep it moist until it is cool enough to handle.
- When it’s cool, place it on a piece of parchment or silicone mat. You can add a little more cornstarch if it feels too sticky (similar to how you would add flour to sugar cookie dough if too sticky to work with).
- Use a rolling pin to flatten it to about 1/4″ thick and use cookie cutters to make shapes. You can also roll into small balls and flatten with your hands (my kiddos did both).
- Push the plastic dinosaurs into the Clay-Dough to make fossils. We pushed their feet, spikes, tails, ribs, spines, etc. into the Clay-Dough and it looks so cool!
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper or use silicone baking sheets. Transfer your shapes/fossils to the baking sheet(s). Bake them for about an hour, turning them over halfway through cooking. Some of ours were a little thick in the middle and not completely hard after an hour of baking, so we let those air dry overnight.
- Enjoy your super cool creations! You can make this Clay-Dough for homemade ornaments, little figurines, sculptures, etc. Let your kids have fun using their imaginations! 🙂 xo
Related Posts
Halloween Traditions Countdown Printable
Summer vacation is upon us – which means it’s time to keep the kids busy all day long! We have one kiddo who isn’t old enough for camp yet (Sofia) and another kiddo (Gabe) who has a week and half before camp starts. We have been baking, crafting, running through sprinklers, swimming, and more! This particular activity is a lot of fun and very versatile.
The recipe below is for something that I lovingly call Clay-Dough and it is my favorite alternative to salt dough. We have dogs, and salt dough is dangerous for animals and kids who may eat the dough. It sounds silly, but little kids and animals are really good at putting things in their mouths and eating things that they shouldn’t. I’m a better safe than sorry kind of mama. 🙂 Not to mention, it is fun to make, easy to play with, you can make so many things, bake it, paint it, and more! Scroll down for the recipe and how to!
If you have a child or children who happen to like dinosaurs, grab any plastic figurines and use them to press feet, spikes, tails, etc. into the Clay-Dough and make your own fossils! It is so much fun and really easy! Please share this post with others and comment with questions or how it goes if you give it try! I would love to hear from you! Have fun, happy Summer and enjoy! xo
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Baking Soda
- 1/2 Cup Corn Starch
- 3/4 Cup Water
- Sauce Pan
- Baking pans
- Parchment or silicone sheets
- Plastic dinosaurs
- Cookie cutters (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175 -200 degrees F (depending on how low your oven goes).
- In a sauce pan combine the cornstarch, baking soda, and water. Stir over medium heat. After about 4 minutes or so, the mixture will begin to thicken. When it looks like instant mashed potatoes, turn off the heat and use a big spoon to put the Clay-Dough into a bowl. Cover it with a damp cloth to keep it moist until it is cool enough to handle.
- When it’s cool, place it on a piece of parchment or silicone mat. You can add a little more cornstarch if it feels too sticky (similar to how you would add flour to sugar cookie dough if too sticky to work with).
- Use a rolling pin to flatten it to about 1/4″ thick and use cookie cutters to make shapes. You can also roll into small balls and flatten with your hands (my kiddos did both).
- Push the plastic dinosaurs into the Clay-Dough to make fossils. We pushed their feet, spikes, tails, ribs, spines, etc. into the Clay-Dough and it looks so cool!
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper or use silicone baking sheets. Transfer your shapes/fossils to the baking sheet(s). Bake them for about an hour, turning them over halfway through cooking. Some of ours were a little thick in the middle and not completely hard after an hour of baking, so we let those air dry overnight.
- Enjoy your super cool creations! You can make this Clay-Dough for homemade ornaments, little figurines, sculptures, etc. Let your kids have fun using their imaginations! 🙂 xo
You’ve Been Boo’ed Printable
Summer vacation is upon us – which means it’s time to keep the kids busy all day long! We have one kiddo who isn’t old enough for camp yet (Sofia) and another kiddo (Gabe) who has a week and half before camp starts. We have been baking, crafting, running through sprinklers, swimming, and more! This particular activity is a lot of fun and very versatile.
The recipe below is for something that I lovingly call Clay-Dough and it is my favorite alternative to salt dough. We have dogs, and salt dough is dangerous for animals and kids who may eat the dough. It sounds silly, but little kids and animals are really good at putting things in their mouths and eating things that they shouldn’t. I’m a better safe than sorry kind of mama. 🙂 Not to mention, it is fun to make, easy to play with, you can make so many things, bake it, paint it, and more! Scroll down for the recipe and how to!
If you have a child or children who happen to like dinosaurs, grab any plastic figurines and use them to press feet, spikes, tails, etc. into the Clay-Dough and make your own fossils! It is so much fun and really easy! Please share this post with others and comment with questions or how it goes if you give it try! I would love to hear from you! Have fun, happy Summer and enjoy! xo
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Baking Soda
- 1/2 Cup Corn Starch
- 3/4 Cup Water
- Sauce Pan
- Baking pans
- Parchment or silicone sheets
- Plastic dinosaurs
- Cookie cutters (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175 -200 degrees F (depending on how low your oven goes).
- In a sauce pan combine the cornstarch, baking soda, and water. Stir over medium heat. After about 4 minutes or so, the mixture will begin to thicken. When it looks like instant mashed potatoes, turn off the heat and use a big spoon to put the Clay-Dough into a bowl. Cover it with a damp cloth to keep it moist until it is cool enough to handle.
- When it’s cool, place it on a piece of parchment or silicone mat. You can add a little more cornstarch if it feels too sticky (similar to how you would add flour to sugar cookie dough if too sticky to work with).
- Use a rolling pin to flatten it to about 1/4″ thick and use cookie cutters to make shapes. You can also roll into small balls and flatten with your hands (my kiddos did both).
- Push the plastic dinosaurs into the Clay-Dough to make fossils. We pushed their feet, spikes, tails, ribs, spines, etc. into the Clay-Dough and it looks so cool!
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper or use silicone baking sheets. Transfer your shapes/fossils to the baking sheet(s). Bake them for about an hour, turning them over halfway through cooking. Some of ours were a little thick in the middle and not completely hard after an hour of baking, so we let those air dry overnight.
- Enjoy your super cool creations! You can make this Clay-Dough for homemade ornaments, little figurines, sculptures, etc. Let your kids have fun using their imaginations! 🙂 xo