Unfortunately, gluten is a very versatile protein, and many craft products aimed at children contain it. Play-Doh — which is made of wheat flour, water, and food coloring — is one of these craft products, but others include paints and paper mache.
Fortunately for those of us who follow the gluten-free diet, there are gluten-free options on the market for almost any project. Here’s a rundown of what supplies you need to watch out for, and what’s available in gluten-free form.
You never should allow a gluten-free child to play with the brand-name version, regardless of how careful you think they can be. Instead, offer them the chance to play with safe modeling clay. Possible brands include:
Aroma Dough Colorations Wheat and Gluten-Free Play Dough Crayola Model Magic or Air-Dry Clay (not Crayola Dough, which contains wheat)
You also can make your own homemade playdough using gluten-free flours and other ingredients.
Therefore, when your budding artist wants to create a masterpiece with his bare hands, make sure to supply one of these fingerpaints:
Colorations Washable Finger Paint Crayola Washable Fingerpaint
Luckily, at least one company — AMACO — makes a gluten-free Claycrete paper mache mix that’s made entirely of pure white paper pulp. The mix dries harder and whiter than wheat-based paper mache and will adhere to most materials, including metal, glass, wood, and paper.
If you want to make your own gluten-free paper mache mix, you can do so with a gluten-free glue (see below) and water: mix about one part water to two or three parts glue until you have the consistency you need.
All Elmer’s glue products, including Elmer’s white glue and glue sticksColorations Washable School Glue, Colorations glitter glue and Colorations glue sticks (both purple and premium)
Craft paste, on the other hand, may contain wheat flour as an ingredient (just as wallpaper paste does). For a gluten-free alternative to craft paste (which is valued for its slow drying time and its flexibility after drying), try Elmer’s Craft Bond Tacky Glue.
Crayola states that all its drawing materials — including that rainbow of Crayola crayons — are gluten-free. Colorations’ variety of different markers and pencils also are safe, as are Elmer’s Painters paint markers and 3D Paint Pens.
Overall, when shopping for gluten-free craft and school supplies, you’ll be better off sticking with name-brand products that disclose their gluten status (such as Crayola and Elmer’s), rather than saving a little money with an off-brand or store brand. Good luck, and happy crafting!
