DIY Natural Playdough

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Making a DIY natural playdough is so simple and fun! It is a great non-toxic alternative, and it is cheaper too. It takes only a few ingredients and kids love to help. You can make this with organic, natural food-based dyes or natural food coloring. Your kids to be entertained for hours!

I use natural, organic ingredients for our playdough. Your skin is our biggest organ and I feel it’s important especially for children.

You will find ways to easily color your playdough, instructions for making your playdough, non-toxic playdough toys, and a printable recipe at the end.

Natural Playdough Color:

You can use natural food coloring or organic food powders for colors.

I use organic food-based powders because it is easy (who doesn’t like easy!?) and shelf-stable. I’ve tried boiling down fruits and vegetables but it generally takes longer than I want to spend. Powders are so simple! You literally add it to your water and mix.

I most often use organic beetroot powder to color our playdough. It’s a pretty pink color. Other options are organic: turmeric (be aware of what turmeric powder you buy, many are higher in lead), spinach and spirulina.

For natural food coloring, I prefer India Tree. You can mix colors to create more than red, yellow and blue (red & yellow = orange, red & blue = purple, and yellow & blue = green)

Natural Playdough Instructions:

A printable version of these instructions is available below!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar (there is no organic cream of tartar, only non-gmo)
• 1 tablespoon of any food-based oil (olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil)
• 1 cup of warm water
• Coloring: food-based powder (1-2 teaspoons) or natural food coloring (5 drops). See above in post for recommendations.

Instructions:

1. Mix dry ingredients (flour, salt, and cream of tartar) in a pot.
2. Add food coloring of your choice to the warm water and mix well.
3. Add oil and colored water to the dry ingredients. Stir well.
4. Heat the mixture slowly on the stove over low to medium heat. Stir or whisk dough often while on the stove. It will eventually start pulling away from the sides and clump into a ball (and start to look like playdough). This process takes just several minutes.
5. Once the dough has cooled, remove it from the pot and kneed it. Then it is ready for play!

Store playdough in an airtight container in the refrigerator and it will last months. I use mason jars.

*Due to the high salt content make sure this stays away from your pets. It can make them very sick if they eat it.

Playdough Toys:

Playdough toys don’t need to be complex but I do have a few favorites non-toxic favorites to share with you!

• Green Toys Playdough Essential Toys Set (shown below)
• Mirus Toys Wood Playdough Stamps (shown below)
• Butter Knife
• Rolling Pin
• Stainless Steel Cookie Cutters

I use a glass cutting board when my kids play with playdough. It makes for a very easy cleanup.

I hope you enjoy making playdough at home with your kids! Have fun experimenting with different color options too!

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Printable Recipe Below:

Print Recipe

DIY Natural Playdough | Natural Baby Mama

Making natural playdough is so simple and fun! It takes only a few ingredients to make this playdough and kids love to help. You can make this with organic, natural food-based dyes or natural food coloring. Your kids to be entertained for hours!

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

3-5 minutes

Servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup Flour
• 1/2 cup Salt
• 2 teaspoons Cream of tartar
• 1 tablespoon Oil (Olive oil or coconut oil)
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon food powder for coloring (or 5 drops of natural food coloring)

Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 3-5 minutes Servings Ingredients 1 cup Flour 1/2 cup Salt 2 teaspoons Cream of tartar 1 tablespoon Oil (Olive oil or coconut oil) 1 cup warm water 1 teaspoon food powder for coloring (or 5 drops of natural food coloring)

Instructions

1. 1. Mix dry ingredients (flour, salt, and cream of tartar) in a pot.
   2. Add food coloring of your choice to the warm water and mix well.
   3. Add oil and colored water to the dry ingredients. Stir well.
   4. Heat the mixture slowly on the stove over low to medium heat. Stir or whisk dough often while on the stove. It will eventually start pulling away from the sides and clump into a ball (and start to look like playdough). This process takes just several minutes.
   5. Once the dough has cooled, remove it from the pot and kneed it. Then it is ready for play!
   6. To store the playdough, put in an airtight container in the refrigerator and it will last months. I often store in mason jars.