Make Playdough with our Recipe. - The Magic Onions (2024)

November 11, 2009

I make sure that there is always a bag of playdough in the fridge. It is a wonderful activity to introduce when Mommy has some work to do, like cook supper! Why is it that you are needed the most when it’s time to start dinner?!

Today we needed to make a fresh batch. I always find the beginning of the ‘making of playdough’ activity, very difficult. I can’t help trying to contain the mess… ‘careful’, I say. ‘Don’t sift too quickly… we don’t want to get flour on the floor!’ My voice reaches a shrill pitch.

Who am I kidding… flour ends up all over the kitchen and once I let go of my ‘mess phobia’ we all have a wonderful time. So much more fun than a clean kitchen is worth! Besides, it only takes a minute of sweeping afterwards to clean it up.

How nice flour feels, cool and soft!

How interesting it is to make a blanket of white snow with the sieve!
How wonderful it feels to scoop it in our hands and let it drop back into the bowl!
How squishy it feels between our toes!
How sweet we look with our face dusted white with flour!
This is our recipe… it has always made wonderful playdough.

PLAYDOUGH

3 cups flour + a little set aside for kneeding
1/2 cups salt
2 tbs. cream of tatar (usually found in the supermarket spice section)
2 tbs. vegetable oil
2 cups boiling water
a few drops of essential oil (optional but oh so nice for added sensory pleasure)

METHOD

Mix together all the dry ingredients.
Add the oil to the boiling water (add a few drops essential oil here; our favorites are lavender, peppermint or eucalyptus.
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, carefully (it is hot!)

Kneed, using a little additional flour until the consistency is just right (not too sticky, not too dry).

I sometimes divide the playdough into 6 balls and add a different colour to each ball. I try to use natural colouring (but often need the speed of food colouring).

A few drops of beet juice makes a soft pink.

A few drops of fresh blueberry juice makes a lovely blue/purple.

Tumeric makes a beautiful yellow (although it does have a funky smell)

Water from boiled marigolds make a gorgeous yellow/orange.

I make our playdough in advance as it takes about 15 minutes to make and we usually need it quicker that that!

I keep our playdough in a ziplock bag in the fridge. When it’s time to play with it, I pop it into the microwave for 5 – 10 seconds. This takes off the fridge chill, making it pliable and not too cold for little hands.

And what, you might ask, did we make with our playdough today?

This proves the theory that ‘monkey see, monkey do’…

Make Playdough with our Recipe. - The Magic Onions (6)

Blessings and magic!

Donni

Donni Webber is the mom behind the popular natural living Waldorf website and blog, The Magic Onions - where the magic of nature and the wonder of childhood collide to make each moment a precious gift. She is a photographer, writer, crafter, wife and mother of two inspiring young children. Her work has been featured in many popular publications, including HGTV, Better Homes and Gardens, Disney and Apartment Therapy.

17 Responses

I have been planing to make play dough this week and knew I’d have to scour around for either an old recipe I have (somewhere) or one on-line. Thank you for taking the effort out of recipe seeking!
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Homemade playdoh is so much nicer than store bought! We like salt flour dough, too, for making Christmas gifts. Squishy fun!
Hope all is well for you and yours.
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My favorite recipe was found on a blog, and that blog has been taken down. This looks pretty similar. I so needed this today! You are like my own personal magical lady! Thank you!!!! We are going to try adding pumpkin pie spice today to make it kinda “November-y”
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We looooove making our own playdoh too but I must say…your kids look like they are having much more fun than we do when we make it (with those toes kneading the dough, tee hee). Love the acorns!
Jamie :)
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I think tomorrow we will make our own playdough. I have always wanted too, but never have. Thanks for the recipe. I also like the idea of letting the children play/explore with the dry ingredients.
Oh, we made a sensory tub like you suggested in a post. This too was new to me. The children loved it. I am fully enjoying your blog. Lots of great ideas.
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Oh, I do love your felted acorns…and how adorable to see that your little monkeys do as they see! :)
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I have only just discovered it, but am loving your blog (as are my 2 and 4 year old girls!).
We love making our own playdough and always add a bit of glitter at the end – nothing beats home made sparkly playdough.
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See Also
Easy Snowman Bath Bomb Recipe + Gift Idea
We just had a play dough morning while mama worked on crafting. I’m not sure why it never occurred to me to ad essential oil! Brilliant idea!
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This is great. So often my husband comes home and there is a lot of creativity going on and not much cooking!!!! You are seizing the moment, which is where the children live! I especially like the picture of K squishing her toes in the dough. Now I want to do that. I don’t think I will be happy until I do. Beth
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Thank you for sharing!! I was just talking about making this today, how funny to find this post just now!!
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We haven’t made playdough in AGES! It’s supposed to be rainy and cold all weekend, and we are stuck home recovering from a cold and this looks like the perfect project for tomorrow afternoon! Thanks!!-
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I never thought about adding essential oils to the play dough. I think i shall make some tomorrow. Your children are adorable. Have such trouble connecting my URL (www.earthboysblog.com) to your site. It keeps taking me back to an old google account that I’m trapped in, yet I’m a follower on the correct one.. strange!!!.
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I just emailed this to myself, so you know it’s good :)
As always ~ LOVE your blog Mama!!
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I sm always looking for new ideas.
Can you bake this or just let it dry?
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1. Hi Barb,
  You can bake it at a low temp… about 250 degrees F for about an hour or longer, until it has hardened.
  Blessings and magic,
  Donni
  Reply
OK, I got the recipe, but it doesn’t tell how to “bake” it . . . I know this is an old post, so if you can reply to my email, I’d appreciate it: pinkcaddy7@yahoo.com Thanks so much.
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1. Hi Viki,
  Thanks for the message.
  We don’t bake it… all it needs is kneading the dry ingredients and boiling water together and, voila… it’s the best palydough ever. That’s why I love this recipe so much… it’s so easy :)
  I’d love to hear how you get on.
  xo Donni
  Reply

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