Exploding the Volcano

There was much excitement last night after dinner, when I promised The Jord we would go outside and explode the volcano that he made before.


It's been a while since we paid any attention to it, purely because of the amount of time it's taken for this particular piece of artwork to dry!

Anyway, I told him to paint it yesterday and once it had dried we would put the 'potion' in and make it explode.

The kid was beside himself!


He couldn't wait. 

No particular significance to this photo -  I just posted it for those who want to know how the bump is doing.


Now you know...


I look like a buddha statue.

I don't know why we had a red mountain...


I had envisioned a green one with red lava.


He obviously had a different vision.


So I went with black lava.

Adding more vinegar...

The black lava actually had a pretty cool effect!

And it's almost over...


... and it's done.

The kids loved it!

How to make Playdough

I've been promising this recipe for a while now and here it is!

With the holiday season coming up, I'm guessing now is a really good time for it!

Playdough is extremely easy to make and I actually prefer this version to the commercial Play-Doh stuff - this is more workable!

 In a mixing bowl:
half a cup of salt
1 tablespoon of Cream of Tartar
some food colouring
and a nice dollop of cooking oil.

The cooking oil helps with stickiness at the end, I can't tell you how much I use - I just pour, but it looks to be at least 2 tablespoons. Maybe more. If this comes out sticky, pour more in your next batch.

And for those of you in the northern hemisphere - add a few drops of eucalyptus oil - I find that playing with scented playdough stops a runny nose in it's tracks.


Add one cup of just-boiled water.

It has to be HOT! Work quickly!

 Then add a cup of flour and mix like crazy.

I mean it! MIX!

Quickly!

Go! Go! Go!

It should end up looking like this. A nice warm, soft dough that makes even adults want to sink their fingers into it!

Haul out the playdough toys and let the kids loose.

And if some goes into the carpet, don't panic.
Let it dry, scrape with a dinner knife and vacuum.

Have fun!