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A couple months ago, I got an email from Brenda, a loyal reader, with instructions on how to make homemade Play-Doh. I was honestly surprised by how simple an inexpensive it was — so I knew I had to try it out!
Now, even though Nora is still way to young for Play-Doh, I thought this might be a fun Christmas break activity to do with your children, grand children, nieces, nephews, etc.
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 c. water
- food coloring of choice
- 3 T. vegetable oil
- 2 1/2 c. flour
- 1/2 c. salt {yes it’s a 1/2 CUP}
- 1 T. powdered alum {found in the spice section}
DIRECTIONS:
- In a medium pot, mix water, food coloring and oil together and bring to a boil
- In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, and alum
- Pour boiling water mixture over flour mixture and stir until combined
- Let the mixture cool a bit until you can touch it with your hands
- Kneed well — like you would kneed bread dough {Brenda suggests using a cutting board for this as the food coloring can slightly stain light counter tops}
Once you kneed the Play-Doh, simply put it in an air-tight container and bring it out any time you need to occupy your children for a while!
The great thing about this recipe is that you don’t have to feel bad about letting your kids mix colors or throwing it out when it gets hard — because it will only cost a few cents to make another batch. Plus you can mix and match your food coloring to create tons of different colors!
And honestly, who doesn’t love playing with Play-Doh!
Betty says
Does it matter what type of flour (self-rising or plain) you use in the playdoh recipe?
Andrea says
I would probably just use “all purpose” flour to be safe.
Vickie says
Dear Andrea,
I can not find alum…I am not in the states working at the moment. How important is this ingredient to the end product? 🙂
Andrea says
I’m not sure… I think the alum is important though. You might try ordering it online.
Karen Davis says
Does the food coloring come off on your hands?
Elizabeth says
I anyone else concerned about the possible negative health effects from the artificial food coloring? I was a bit concerned prior to making this recipe but went ahead and made some. My 3 year old twins seem fine but I feel a little dizzy and nauseated. I’ll try it with kool-aid next time (although there is artificial food coloring in there as well… but maybe it won’t affect me as much).
Emi says
I noticed that the commercial Play-Doh dries out my hands and the homemade one does not
Sarah [ mamalotsoftots ] says
For our recipe, we use kool-aid packets instead of food coloring. Wonderful vibrant color, AND yummy scents. 🙂 We also use cream of tartar instead of alum, in case anyone would like a substitute for it!
Lisa says
I was looking for something fun to do with Lizzie today! I used to make this all the time when I was a preschool teacher. The best thing is that the playdough stays soft for over a month!
🙂
Lisa
Miranda says
It stays perfectly together and the glitter causes no mess! I find maybe 1 or 2 sparkles on the table but that’s it. I use very tiny flakes that I got in a Scrapbooking kit.
Miranda says
I’m honestly quite surprised to see this recipe pop up on so many sites – I thought this was the oldest recipe in the books, ha ;)! My mom has been making this for ages and I just made my first batch for my daughter. We use cream of tartar instead of powdered alum although I’m not sure if that’s the same thing …? I added glitter to my playdoh for extra flair, I’m guessing Nora might like that too when she’s older ;).
Andrea says
I know — I’m sure this recipe is really old, but it was just so simple and inexpensive that I had to post it… just incase someone out there hadn’t heard of it before!
I love the glitter idea — but does the glitter get all over and make a mess when the kids are playing with the Play-Doh?
Truffles Magazine says
Andrea,
I am going to be sharing this with my readers, I just added a space on my blog about small spaces, city living, & I feel this is a great project for families with children who live in small spaces to do together, its inexpensive and doesn’t take much space.
Thanks for sharing