Lets start the year with an oldie but a goodie and this is something that you can take out when you are lacking in motivation or just need a little break. Once you have made it you will never again buy it and trust me adding essential oils makes it so nice.
Materials/Ingredients
1 and half cups (1 cup is 250ml) of salt
3 cups of warm water
3 cups of plain flour
3 tablespoons of oil
6 teaspoons of cream of tartar
Food colouring
Essential oils, I use lavender, neroli, geranium, camomile
Air tight containers
Method
add the salt and water to a large pan and wait for the salt to melt
- add the flour, oil and cream of tartar and heat over a medium heat, stirring continuously until it starts to pull away from the sides
- Tip out the dough and need for about 2 mins
- Split the dough in to smaller amounts and add food colouring and essential oil
Now we add different smells to the colours, being anal like I am, we have lavender in the blue, etc, etc
Now, I know there are other recipes out there, but this one seems to last better, sometimes up to six months, but then I have children, who like to keep the colours separate (yes strange I know)!
Play dough is not the devil's play toy, I know some people don't like it but I have never understood why. If you have carpet then pop down a plastic tablecloth under the table.
We have a large box of toys to use with it, that have been collected over the years, but the ones that they always come back to, are the rolling pins and cookie cutters. I just buy inexpensive plastic seasonal ones and use them for both the play dough and the cookies!
If I have inspired you to make any playdough, or just to craft with your children, then please come back and add your link below. Lets make 2010 the year that we become a little less worried about the mess crafting with children can create and the need to add our perfectionism to the mix and make it the year for fun crafting.
Oh and please, please, please add my button to your sidebar and lets get more children and parents crafting too. Thank you
Oh and please, please, please add my button to your sidebar and lets get more children and parents crafting too. Thank you
Lastly this is your showcase too, if there is anything you would like me to focus on I will. The plan is to try and keep things seasonal, easy and all encompassing. Enjoy
18 comments:
ThankYou for sharing this :o) My little Grandson is only 9 months old but I am bookmarking this for later.
Huge playdough fan here so guess what i'm going to be doing tomorrow, thanks for the recipe.
I suppose i'd better let little man play too 'hehe'
Take care
Beki xxx
Fab, I have never made playdough before. I think I might give it a try this week if I am brave enough :)
Adding essential oils is a brilliant idea. We often add glitter to ours as well as colour - but possibly girls find that more exciting than boys would ;-)
This is so lovely - how pretty do those little pots look!
I've never made playdough before but will give it a go now - mine do really like playing with it but I've always just bought it. This looks much nicer and more fun.
I always have great intentions of making my own play dough. I can never find cream of tartar though and people look at me as if I'm crazy when I ask, pointing me to tartar sauce.
Oh well. I live in hope of finding it. In the meantime we have some shop bought stuff. Plenty to make a big mess. I doubt I'll be adding any essential oils until he stops eating it. As smart as I think he is, even I have my doubts when he's eating big gobs of play dough and retching.
That was one of the best bits about my old job in a pre-school - playdough.
Am a whizz at playdough snails ;)
SCENTED! Am mightily impressed. Your playdough looks fantastic and I must admit to being particularly impressed with how you have managed to take a photo before the colours all merge into one. I keep catching our youngest underneath the table eating it. And tartar sauce, just knew there had to be good purpose for it somewhere.
My son adores play dough, when ever I agree to get it out the first thing he says is "don't eat it!" Bless maybe a fragrance would put him off? I'll let you know! I'm all up for 2010 being the year of crafting with kids, plan to buy H an easel & lots of craft goodies for his third birthday in April.
I loved doing this when mine were little but we never had essential oil - how lovely
( though the smell of origional playdoh carries me back to my childhood )
We had lots or rollers & cutters in a big container & my two were busy for hours
lovely post xx
I used to love the children playing with playdough, it was one activity that really did occupy them for a while! They loved it! suzie xxx
What a great idea to add essential oils and dyes! We love crafts and certainly made a huge mess and had a lot of fun at the weekend printing fabric with potato stamps:)
What a great idea! I love that you add the scents too - I'll have to try it. I'm the kind who likes to keep the colours separate, but my kids are not... and the mess does drive me bananas. Your reminder to worry less about the mess is a good one for me!
I love the idea of adding smells - will definitely do that next time we make batch. We've been having fun with jelly this week , so I've put a link to that (hope you don't mind me going off topic?!)
ohhh we love to playdoh here and I particularly like making it and adding in some glitter! lol Such a girl! Mich x
I'm a HUGE fan of Playdoh! I absolutely enjoyed making hamburgers, tacos, chips and fruit out of Playdoh when I was younger. However, if they were scented...I would have been tempted to actually eat them :)
My 5yo loves making playdough more than she does playing with it I think! We've tried lots of different recipes and she loves adding glitter. And when I've been desperate I've added lavender hoping it would calm them down.
It didn't, in case anyone was wondering...
I have some almond essence left over from baking so I might add that next time to try and emulate the lovely shop-bought smell of playdough. Thanks for the reminder.
PS. Love the pic of your beautiful pastel pots of dough. Can I come and play?!
Thank you thank you. I had a recipe just like this but I lost it....never even thought about smelly-dough, good idea. I'm off to the shops as it's half term and I've two HUGE play dates here this week...Consider me a follower, nay....worshipper!
Lou
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