IMHO, Play-Doh is a gift from the gods. Unfortunately, for a poor starving college student, it is an expensive one. But here are some recipes to make your own, using stuff that might actually be in your kitchen (so you can save your money for the REAL good stuff -- like the Fun Factory).
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 cup salt
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup oil
Step 1: Mix flour and salt, slowly add water and oil.
Step 2: If the dough is too wet, add flour, too dry, add water.
This dough can be easily colored and scented. Adding food coloring to the water will prevent stained hands, and I've found that peppermint extract (or vanilla, or lemon, or just about any other cooking extract) makes it smell great.
Here's another recipe that smells great on it's own, and tastes better if you think for some reason that it'll be eaten (sometimes the stuff comes out of the Fun Factory and you just forget, ya know?)
Ingredients:
Step 1: Beat all the ingredients together until smooth..
Step 2: Chill at least 3 hours before using.
The one drawback of this recipe is that it goes bad a bit quicker than standard dough. If you keep it in a ziplock bag in the fridge when it's not in use, though, it should keep for two to three weeks.
Have fun!