Fun Fact: The soft, stretchy, clay-like modeling compound remanufactured in the 1950’s as Play-Doh; was originally invented in the 1930’s as a wall paper cleaner by Kutol Products, a Cincinnati soap company.
Smithsonian Magazine
Two months after making our homemade playdough; & it’s still as moldable as it was the day we made it!
As a self-proclaimed playdough connoisseur, I have explored the vast and varied landscape of playdough recipes. From the overly sticky to the tragically crumbly, and everything in between. I promise you, I have tried them all.
But why?
Because, that’s what parent’s do, or at least what this mama does.
My son struggles with sensory processing disorder, and capturing his attention for longer than a few seconds somedays seems physically impossible.
After observing my little one become uncomfortable, and overwhelmed by specific textures, I never even noticed, I felt it was my duty to find ways for us to work through them.
It all started one rainy afternoon. My kitchen counter was a battlefield of flour, salt, and food coloring. I was determined to find the perfect homemade playdough.
My son had zero interest in participating in any of the previous recipes, so I wasn’t surprised when he didn’t want to help with this playdough recipe either.
It wasn’t until I was almost finished making this batch of playdough, that my son all of a sudden showed an interest in what I was making.
His favorite color is purple, so we decided that would be our starting point.
I put a few red and blue drops into our first section, and began folding the dough to ensure we’d have an evenly dyed section of play doh. I showed him as the two colors began to blend into one.
Once finished, I placed the purple playdough into the air tight container I was going to store them in, and grabbed the next portion of dough to begin dying.
Before I could pick our next color, my son reached out with a tentative finger and poked our purple homemade playdough!
It was a small gesture, but in our world, it was monumental. Literally huge!
I have tried previously to get him to touch all kinds of things, play-doh, slime, the sticky side of his favorite sticker, all with no luck. So this, as a mama, was everything! I was ecstatic!
His simple poke eventually turned into gentle prods and squishes, and before long, he was fully immersed in the sensory wonderland of our homemade playdough.
So, of course we dubbed our recipe as the best homemade playdough.
This Playdough was the starting point to all of our sensory activities, and I can only hope our playdough recipe will bring your family as much joy as it has ours.
Long lasting, Taste Safe Playdough
Difficulty: EasyGrab your aprons and let’s get ready to roll, squish, and shape our way to countless hours of fun and learning with playdough
Ingredients:
2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 cup Salt
2 Tbsp. Cream Of Tartar
2 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
2 cups Water
Food Coloring ( I recommend 5 drops at a time; the more you put in, the darker the color)
Directions
- In a medium Saucepan combine the water and vegetable oil. (If you are making the playdough all one color; add your food coloring now).
- Now add the salt, and cream of tartar; mix until they are both dissolved.
- Add the flour and mix; don’t be alarmed the consistency is going to be “goopy”!
- Increase heat to medium; & continue to stir until the mixture thickens up. It’ll be sticky, don’t worry. Keep stirring until dough starts to form a ball while mixing; then remove from heat
- Remove mixture from saucepan & place into mixing bowl( do not use your hands, IT’S HOT).
- Allow Mixture to cool.
- When dough is cool to the touch start kneading. (Don’t be alarmed if it is still sticky; keep kneading until it reaches your desired consistency)
****If you already added your food coloring, you are done!***
- Separate into even sections (I went with 6 different colors, so I made 6 equal sections from my kneaded dough)
- Take one section& flatten it out adding the color of your choice to the the top middle section of the dough. Now, Fold the sides of the dough over the food coloring; continue doing this until the color is evenly mixed.
- Repeat step 9 for each section of dough you made!
- Voila! YOU DID IT, you made your own playdough; now just make sure to store in an air tight container, & you’ll be surprised how long this recipe truly lasts!!
- HERE’S SOME OF OUR FAVORITE AD INS:
- Essential oils such as Lavender, Eucalyptus, or Lemon to make Aromatherapy Playdough.
- Sand, rice, or rock salt, for a fun and easy textured playdough.
- Add glow in the dark paint for an easy glow in the dark playdough experience!
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are ‘affiliate links’. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission.
One response to “The Best Homemade Playdough”
I Love this!!! Thank you so much for sharing your experience