Homemade Play-dough With Essential Oils

Disclaimer: I AM NOT A DIY EXPERT!! I feel like I need to say that because some moms are so gifted at the craft and DIY world. My hat goes off to them! I am not one of them, but we tried something new and had a fabulous time in the process! And that’s what we’re really all about over here, learning and trying new things together :)

I have seen this recipe for homemade, nontoxic playdough for a while now and I feel like Isaiah is finally at the age where he might appreciate and not just devour a handful of it so we gave it a shot! The recipe is easily found online, but this one I pulled from an essential oils DIY recipe book called “Oil and Glass” which has a lot more kid-friendly recipes!

The first time we attempted the dough, I didn’t read the instructions and I missed the part where you put the ingredients on the stove. Facepalm. (Why can’t we type with emojis on here??) So we started over, used the stovetop to combine the ingredients, and the texture was muuuuch better! Crisis averted! Then we let the dough cool before separating and forming it. 

Adding the food coloring was probably the messiest part of it all, but so fun! Mixing it into the dough got my hands all purple and red, luckily it is plant-based and washes off very easily! The colors we ended up with were so vibrant and beautiful, my only complaint is that there weren’t more to choose from. I tried to mix a few to make more colors, but we ended up with a golden brown which didn’t look so appealing when mixed in with the dough. LOL!

The final step and my favorite part of the project, adding the essential oils! Store-bought playdough has such a distinct, tart smell, and no matter how nostalgic it is I don’t want to smell it on mine or my son’s hands all day. So adding in some of our favorite essential oils to the dough created a new, lovely association with playdough! Plus they are all calming, uplifting scents which is what we could always use some more of around here. 

In the end, the dough + oils were a hit! With a few mishaps and a toddler meltdown in the middle of it all, it was exactly how you might expect a homemade playdough craft to go down in my house ;)

R E C I P E

1 cup of flour

1 cup of water

2 tsp cream of tartar (or substitute with lemon juice or white vinegar)

1/3 cup of salt

1 tbsp vegetable oil

natural food coloring

essential oils of choice!

”In a saucepan, combine all dry ingredients. Add water and vegetable oil. Over medium to low heat stir mixture until it thickens (approximately 2-3 minutes). Lumps can be worked out by hand. Continue to stir until play dough begins to gather around your spoon. Remove from heat. Knead out any remaining lumps. Separate the play dough into individual balls. Add natural food coloring and essential oils. Smell often.”