Homemade Playdough

April 6, 2019 - By emily

Homemade playdough is, hands-down, one of our very favorite things to make. We discovered the recipe two years ago when I got frustrated with how expensive Play-Doh is and how fast it dries out (for us, at least). I wasn’t willing to keep shelling out $$ for a product that went to waste so quickly and knew there had to be another option.

Here’s what I love about this recipe:

It makes a LOT of playdough
You can make it whatever colors you want
It’s super soft and fun to play with
It lasts forever (we’ve seriously had one batch for close to year)

Playdough making supplies // Crafting with kids: homemade playdough. So good, you'll never go back to the store bough variety. #craftingwithkids #kidscraft #homemadeplaydough #playdough #diycraft #familycraft #toddleractivities

Oh, and it’s made from a majority of things that we stock in our kitchen on a regular basis (minus the cream of tartar). A definite bonus since we started making this when Anna was 2 and liked to put things in her mouth.

I’ve even seen recipes that include essential oils to give it a different smell or for using at bedtime to help relax kiddos and get them to sleep faster. (Can’t hurt to try, right?!)

Inspiration for this project comes from Living Well Mom.

Crafting with kids: homemade playdough. So good, you'll never go back to the store bough variety. #craftingwithkids #kidscraft #homemadeplaydough #playdough #diycraft #familycraft #toddleractivities

How To Make Homemade Playdough

Supplies:

Flour
Salt
Cream of Tartar
Oil
Water
Medium Saucepan
Wooden Spoon
Food coloring (gel or liquid)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
2 tbs + 2 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 tbs oil
food coloring

Instructions:

Heat small saucepan over medium-low heat
Combine flour, cream of tartar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Add water and oil. Stir to combine.
Add food coloring based on what color you want to make your playdough. We seem to always make red, blue, and purple up in here. This also happens to be Anna’s favorite part.
Stir until it forms a blob around the spoon. It might still be a little sticky, that’s okay.
Remove from heat and turn onto a cutting board or work surface. The dough is hot, so this is something for grown ups to do, or you’ll need to wait for the dough to cool down.
Turn the dough like you’re kneading bread. This helps to work out any lumps and to thoroughly mix through the food coloring in case it didn’t quite mix all the way through. It will turn into a silky smooth ball of playdough when it’s ready.
Allow to cool enough so little hands can touch and play.