Permission to look smug for a bit?
I made my first ever homemade play dough today, and it came out absolutely perfect – so much nicer than the greasy commercial stuff you buy in tiny pots that cost a small fortune considering their short shelf life once opened. Feeling particularly smug as it kept both children entertained for over an hour and a half while we’re still stuck inside for potty training purposes.
It’s a recipe I nicked from Li’l Bhaji’s nursery, but I’m sure they won’t mind me sharing it:
Play / Modelling Dough
Ingredients
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 cup plain flour
½ cup salt
1 cup water
2 tsps cream of tartar
1 tsp food colouring of choiceMethod
1. Chuck all ingredients into a saucepan and mix well over a low heat.
2. Take out of the pan JUST before it looks ready – i.e. it’ll look slightly too moist (as it dries out a bit while you’re waiting for it to cool).
3. Give it a good kneed through. Will take about 10 minutes before it’s cool enough to play with.
And there you go, really quick and easy – you get about double the size of a normal commercial pot, so plenty to share.
I’m not sure how long it will last – probably not as long as the stuff you get in a tub, but it should last a while if you keep it wrapped in clingfilm or in some sort of airtight container to keep the moisture in.
Best of all, the bits that get ground into the carpet crumble when dry, so it’s really easy to remove when your toddler treads it through the rest of the house – that’s DEFINITELY an improvement!
33 responses so far ↓
1 Blue Witch // 23rd Oct 2006 at 5:41 pm
*yearns for the smell of commerical Playdoh*!
2 Pewari // 23rd Oct 2006 at 5:45 pm
But that’s not very *value*, BW! ;)
I have since been told that adding some vanilla essence into the above recipe makes it smell gorgeous and helps it to last longer too!
3 valb // 23rd Oct 2006 at 10:08 pm
It usually lasts for ages Pewari, although it does tend to develop a slight salt crust with age! It’s still usuable though…
I have tried adding dessicated coconut, various “smelly” flavourings, etc. to try and give it a bit of added interest from time to time. (Although I must admit, I love the smell of “proper” Playdoh too!)
4 Kal // 23rd Oct 2006 at 10:45 pm
This is EXACTLY the recipe I use when I’m making prosthetic ‘flesh’ for teaching medics!
5 Miss L // 24th Oct 2006 at 8:31 am
Well, that makes all sorts of interesting Hallowe’en acitivities possible! DO they make black food colouring now?
6 Tami // 24th Oct 2006 at 1:43 pm
I have made play dough before, but I have to say, your colors are much better than mine ever were. How pretty!
When playing with play dough, my daughter always drags out all of my cookie cutters to play with.
7 cassie-b // 24th Oct 2006 at 1:53 pm
It looks great. I made the home made variety years ago, and I don’t know if this is the same recipe or a new-imporved recipe. It looks good. And I like the idea of it being easy to clean up!
8 Anji // 24th Oct 2006 at 3:07 pm
I’ve still got spots on the carpet left over from those play-doh days. i enjoyed playing with it more than the kids… perhaps I’ll make some for myself.
9 valb // 24th Oct 2006 at 5:33 pm
Miss L, yes they still do make black food colouring (and the dough looks great – like bendy liquorice!)
10 Libby // 24th Oct 2006 at 8:04 pm
I have copied a good idea from my little one’s playgroup: I add glitter! Lots of fun.
11 Miss L // 25th Oct 2006 at 2:39 pm
Thank you valb, even though my kids are grown up I might well make some black playdoh for my own Hallowe’en activities – black AND glitter? I have some somewhere!!
12 mad muthas // 25th Oct 2006 at 7:48 pm
where were you 8 years ago when i needed this recipe sooooo badly? (might make it anyway – even if 12 year olds disdain, i can play on my own!)
13 Miss L // 26th Oct 2006 at 8:50 am
There seems to be a theme here – mothers enjoying playing, never mind the grown up kids!!
14 Pewari // 26th Oct 2006 at 3:24 pm
Wow, all these comments about play dough!! I think you’re right, Miss L – the adults love it more than the kids ;)
Definitely going to try glitter and black food dye next time.
I’m impressed it’s used for prosthetic flesh, Kal! Does it stay stuck well, or do you use something else to adhere to the skin?
15 Emily // 27th Oct 2006 at 2:28 pm
Hello!
We make it without heating it. It’s great and does last for ages and ages. A tip though, do NOT knock over the bottle of food colouring unless you want blue hands for a week! Yep, I managed to do that!
16 Pewari // 31st Oct 2006 at 4:49 pm
EEP! Still, you could tell people it’s an early Halloween costume – blue elf hands :)
17 Kathy // 3rd Nov 2006 at 11:23 pm
I’ve been making this recipe since I taught pre-school, about 20 years ago! My 5 year old is so proud that we bring in home-made playdough for her Kindergarten class this year. I asked her if the class wanted orange, thinking it would be a good seasonal color, but she voted for purple instead. Much better color selection with home made!
18 Kal // 5th Nov 2006 at 1:34 am
We apply thin layers of it to skin, blend the edges down and then stick/waterproof it with latex/PVA glue before cutting the wound shape into it.
Give it a spin, it’s great fun!
19 Pewari // 5th Nov 2006 at 12:52 pm
Kathy: I was just thinking that I needed to get in a better range of food dyes ;)
Kal: it does sound fun, I may just do that!
20 Organic Mutant - » le secret love letter to google // 10th Nov 2006 at 7:56 am
[...] A few days ago inspired by my friend Regina , I decided that we would make Play Dough. DIY. Interactive experience. So I opened a new tab and googled (yes, it’s a verb now) ‘play dough recipes homemade’. I explored about the first 50 hits or so and noticed a common theme and then copied this wonderful recipe into my Jill Bliss journal and went on my way. [...]
21 Sarah // 15th Nov 2006 at 1:11 pm
I don’t use food coloring. I use Kool-Aid to color my playdoh. Not only can you get a wide range of colors (one packet per lump), but it smells wonderful. Your hands will too for the rest of the day.
22 nermal // 14th Jan 2007 at 6:47 am
Looks like a great recipe, ill give it a try. I wonder does the food coloring color there hands when they play with it. Also can you use vanilla (the stuff you bake with) to add for scent? Thanks again!!!!:)
23 Pewari // 14th Jan 2007 at 9:05 am
Surprisingly, nermal, it doesn’t seem to colour their hands (fortunately!) and yes, vanilla makes a great addition for scent!
24 Denis shiel // 7th Jun 2007 at 3:13 pm
valb and Blue Witch I must admit to a love the smell of “proper” Playdoh too! I thought I was alone in this ‘addiction!!’;-)
However I must add an obvious warning: SOME kids do have a tendancy to find such plesent smells as EDIBLE so care must be taken!
The recipe featured is an ideal & worthwhile treat for younger children & older kids can appreciate witnessing you making it too!
25 Pewari // 8th Jun 2007 at 7:04 am
Oh yes, good advice Denis! Li’l Bhaji is always trying to eat ours whether shop bought or home made, and does need proper supervision.
26 Luisa // 5th Oct 2007 at 11:48 pm
Although the above recipe may be good, I have one that smells fantastic, lasts a VERY long time, is very soft AND easy to make. I make Koolaid Playdough with my preschoolers all the time, it’s so easy that they can help with it without too much worry of making a mistake!
KOOLAID PLAYDOUGH
-2 cups flour
-1 cup salt
-2 pkgs Kool-Aid (your color choice)
-5 tbsp oil
-2 cups boiling water
1. In a bowl mix salt & koolaid together
2. Add boiling water & stir
3. Add oil & stir
4. Add flour ONE cup at a time
5. If still sticky, add a little more flour, putting only a little bit at a time
6. ENJOY!
Make sure to store it in a air-tight container with a lid to ensure a long shelf-life!
27 Pewari // 6th Oct 2007 at 8:07 am
Thanks for that, Luisa!
Not sure we can get Koolaid here in the UK. Anyone know what an equivalent might be?
28 Dana // 17th Nov 2007 at 8:08 pm
Just discovered a recipe for ‘Pumpkin Pie Playdough.’ To make it smell great like pumpkin pie, just add pumpkin pie spice. (I made a bulk quantity, so I used a whole container of McCormick’s (1.12 oz.) I also used 2 parts yellow : 1 part red food coloring to give it that orangey/brown color. Hope you like this variation!
29 Nicky // 14th Apr 2008 at 10:43 am
Koolaid is an American powdered fruit drink see reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kool-Aid
Not sure I’d want to use it myself in case it tastes too good for toddlers to resist. This playdough is fantastic and I’ve been making it for years, but I know kids can die from too much salt and i don’t know how much it would be safe to ingest… so better to leave the overwhelming taste of salt which is unpalatable, rather than disguise it with the fruity taste?
30 Nicky // 14th Apr 2008 at 10:46 am
P.s. just found this if anyone wants it (for older kids perhaps)
http://www.koolaiduk.com/
31 Sally Johnston // 1st Jun 2009 at 11:24 am
You can give playdough a better smell by adding clear fruit tea to the water (remove bags before adding water to pan, obviously). Alternatively, use several strong coloured bags to dye the dough too (tends to only make pinks and purples but it is great)
32 Charlotte // 26th Apr 2011 at 6:37 pm
Thank you for putting this recipie online my friend gave me it aout 2 years ago and that play dough has just come to an end so today I made a double batch and its perfect I added the food colouring at the end once it was cooled as could split it into smaller lumps and do different colours!
33 Pewari // 28th Apr 2011 at 5:11 pm
Glad you found it useful, Charlotte!
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