Hello, friends!

My kids have been begging me to help them make homemade playdough for months. Well, since itlooks like my kids and I are hiding in our house for the time being! Right now, we’re three days into my son being home from school because they’ve closed in our state until… who knows when? Closed until all this Coronavirus nonsense has blown over. Ugh – what unsettling times we have! But, we will get through this, won’t we? Yes, we will! We’re in this together. However, if you’re like me, your kids are getting really freaking bored being cooped up inside the house. I keep asking myself, what can my kids do for fun inside? I mean, besides Netflix?

So, both my kids love playdough. We go through the stuff pretty freaking fast because it often gets left open. Which obviously drives me bonkers. Also, all the colors get mixed together, like you’d expect. It really only lasts us so long before it needs to get chucked in the garbage. Which feels super wasteful to me both for the plastic containers that the playdough came in, but also for the playdough itself. So, I wondered if we could make playdough at home, and it turns out there were lots of different recipes online!

We tried out a couple, and I finally found a recipe that I loved, with a couple little changes that I thought suited me better. It’s just a basic recipe that requires all purpose flour, salt, cream of tartar, vegetable oil, Kool-Aid, and food coloring (if needed).

Just as a side note, I created three (THREE) batches of playdough and forgot the oil in each one. I’ve been a total space case lately! You seriously need to include the oil. Don’t freaking forget the oil like I did. You will regret it. Seriously, ADD THE OIL! You have been warned.

On another note, I really like the addition of Kool-Aid to this recipe. Not all recipes asked for it, but I think it adds a great touch. One of my children does not appreciate the scent of plain playdough. It personally does not bother me, nor my other child, but I digress. Adding the Kool-Aid adds a fun and fruity smell that kids think is hoot! The first time I tried using Kool-Aid, I only added one packets. It did give the playdough a bit of color, but you couldn’t really smell it. The next batch I used two packets and it was perfect. If you want a really strong scent, you could always add a third package. Whatever floats your boat! As far as color goes, if you use the Kool-Aid, it will add a bit of color, but it will be pretty light. If you want a deeper color, try using a gel color. Experiment as you go!

Ingredients:

• 1 C All-Purpose Flour
• 1/3 C Salt
• 2 TSP Cream of Tartar
• 1 C Water
• 1 TBSP Vegetable Oil
• Two Packets Of Kool-Aid
• Food Coloring (optional)

Directions:

Add the flour, salt, cream of tartar, water, and vegetable oil to a medium-sized pan over medium-low heat and mix well. It’s going to be a little lumpy, but that’s okay!

Now, add the Kool-Aid and stir. If you’d like to add any food coloring, add it now little by little until you achieve the color you desire. Stir constantly until it pulls away from the sides and forms a ball.

Dump it out of the pan onto a sheet of parchment paper and let it cool. Then, knead it for a few minutes until it becomes a nice texture and consistency. That’s it! Wasn’t that easy? Happy DIYing!