Here’s an easy playdough recipe without cream of tartar that’s perfect for kids and adults alike! Get creative, mix up your dough and make your own unique creations.
My kids were out of school for a couple of days this week. At first I was excited thinking of all of the fun things we could do. The nice leisurely mornings with time to make pancakes and dally around in PJs.
The fun afternoons where we would perhaps visit a pumpkin patch and strengthen our family bond.
The reality was more like three wide eyed children waking me up at 6:40am by pressing their face against mine and pleading “what can we do now?!”. What can we do now?
Like now as in we-woke-up-forty-five-seconds-ago-and-are-bored-out-of-our-ever-loving-minds!
How is it even possible to be bored that early? I wish I knew.
So, it’s been kind of rough.
My visions of strolling hand-in-hand through mazes of corn came crashing down instantly, and all the sudden the rose-colored glasses with which I had reminisced about care-free summer days came off.
It’s like I had forgotten that our summer was a giant squabble fest.
So back to the drawing board! This is the best best Playdough recipe and it has come in handy on many rainy (and snowy, and even sunny) days at our house. It truly is the perfect recipe.
The dough is softer, more pliable and less…stinky than regular Play-Doh, plus the kids actually get to help make it, which they love!
Playdough is an amazing craft material for kids and adults alike. It’s fun, messy, and so much better than store bought Play-Doh. Children who enjoy art activities often find themselves drawn towards playdough.
I love making playdough with my kids because they love playing with it and it’s a lot of fun to watch them create new shapes and patterns.
It’s also a great way to spend time together as a family.
You can easily customize the color or texture by adding food coloring into the mixture before you knead it.
You could even add in some food grade glitter if you like. The sky’s the limit when it comes to creating this fun homemade playdough.
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Why should children play with playdough?
Playdough is made mostly from flour and water, and is great for kids to use when they are learning about shapes, textures, and colors.
Playing with playdough has been shown to improve hand eye coordination and creativity.
It also helps develop their fine motor skills.
They always have lots of fun using all different types of tools on their playdough projects.
Get creative with tools. Almost every kitchen utensil will come in handy for sure, but what about things from nature?
Try incorporating sticks, flowers, leaves and rocks. Use them as tools or an accessory to finished pieces.
What else can I make with Playdough?
You can make many other things out of playdough besides just simple crafts such as:
- Dolls – Make dolls out of playdough
- Puppets – Use playdough to make puppets
- Sculpture – Create sculptures out of playdough
- Artwork – Paint pictures with playdough
- Homemade Slime
How to make edible playdough at home?
You can buy readymade playdoh kits online, but there’s no need to go out and purchase one.
I’ve been making edible playdough for years now and I’m always excited to try out new recipes.
Here’s a simple DIY edible playdough recipe that has become my go-to and should delight all ages.
Simply make the dough, pull out the cookie cutters or Play-Doh accessories, and then walk away and enjoy a blissful twenty minutes until your kids become bored again.
No really, this will buy you at least 40 minutes ;).
Because I love you and don’t want you to waste your life meandering the aisles of the grocery store, I went ahead and listed where to find these ingredients in the store.
The start up cost to becoming a professional homemade play-doh recipe maker might seem high, but for less than $10 you’ll have enough supplies to make a lot, and I mean a lot, of dough.
Thank you to Kristi B. for submitting this article!
Homemade Easy Playdough Recipe
Here’s a simple playdough recipe that has become my go-to and should delight all ages.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups of water
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1 tablespoon Alum (in the spice aisle)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 drops of vegetable glycerine (optional)
- food coloring
- 2 cups flour
Instructions
- Mix water, salt, Alum, vegetable oil, and glycerin together in a pot or saucepan.
- Warm the pot but don’t let it boil. Just get it nice and hot. You want the salt to almost dissolve BUT not quite. Stir sparingly (it’s okay to stir, but not too much).
- When you have reached this obscure temperature (sorry!) put the mixture in your mixer (or a mixing bowl) and add the flour.
- Start mixing. As the flour combines with the liquid, add in a few drops of your food coloring color of choice. You can add a drop or two of peppermint oil if you like! Let it all mix for about two minutes, till it looks like dough (or your arms get tired).
- Let sit until cool (it will get less sticky as it cools).
- Enjoy!
Notes
If you want to make multiple colors with this one batch, then wait until after your dough has formed and knead in food coloring after separating into smaller bowls. However, it is much easier if you mix them both at the same time so if you want a smaller amount, feel free to adjust the recipe smaller using the buttons.
The amount of flour needed is different depending on where you live. At sea level, you probably need just a cup and a half of flour. Here in the mountains (Utah), I use about 2-2 1/4 cups. If your dough is stickier than you would like after it cools, just add some more flour!
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