We have been going a little play dough mad in our house at the moment, with having a lively toddler to play with and then an older sister who loves any kind of sensory play that vaguely resembles slime/putty and also a 5 year old who occasionally likes to get his hands on some dough. I have been knocking up quite a few batches to keep in an airtight container for a handy after school or Sunday morning activity.
I have been using the best ever play dough recipe
for a while now and so just wanted to change it up slightly and experiment with some natural dye colourings. I also knew that the children would find experimenting with making dough dyes great fun and extend their activity learning even more. It’s a bit like having a home kitchen laboratory having different things bubbling away ready to add to the dough. It’s a really great way to get your children discussing colours as well.
*These recipes do contain salt so please monitor little ones to make sure none is consumed, and wash their hands after use. It’s really not tasty so mine have never been interested in eating the dough!*
I’m pretty sure we could find some more colourful wonders to use as a natural dye and experiment with, however for now we wanted to share with you the ones that we have tried and tested and we will share our favourite doughs at the end.
Blueberries – Heat up some blueberries in blueberry water (strain the fruit) and add a cup full (slowly in increments) to your dry dough mix. This makes such a pretty pastel purple colour.
Cocoa powder – add a good heaped teaspoon of cocoa to your boiling water and stir and dissolve before adding slowly to your dough.
Turmeric – An earthy spice that produces the most vibrant of yellow shades. A great addition to play dough. Again add a good teaspoon to your boiling water.
Strawberries and Vanilla – Such a lovely aroma! Pop a few damaged strawberries into water with a few drops of vanilla and cook up a cup full of strawberry water (strain out the fruit).
Matcha and Peppermint essence -A green dough that smells like a mint delight. We added a good teaspoon along with some peppermint essence to achieve a lovely green hue.
We found the two fruit doughs and the turmeric one the softest and most pliable of the doughs. Florence’s favourite was the pastel pink and purple ones. And as for me I just love the gorgeous yellow turmeric dough that reminds me of visiting Spain and their love over there for the vibrant yellows. The cocoa one was also a bit of a hit for the amazing chocolatey scent.
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