I made a big batch of rainbow play dough the other night by dividing it and colouring into 6 different portions.
I’ve made a LOT of playdough in my day because it’s one of my favourite sensory activities to offer my toddlers and preschoolers. This is my very favourite recipe. Â You can make it in minutes and it stays soft and smooth for months if stored in an airtight bag or container.
We even left this stuff sitting out in the backyard during nap-time today, and it didn’t dry out! Â It truly is awesome.
You can use whatever colouring you have on hand – gel colours, liquid food colours and even liquid watercolours. Â I personally love Wilton icing gels because you just need a little bit to get really rich, vibrant colours. Â I’ve never been able to get my colours this bright with liquid food colouring.
This morning, I put a plastic table-cloth down on the deck, and set the playdough up with an assortment of “tools”: scissors, craft sticks, beads, plastic toothpicks, coloured bowls etc., and told the Hooligans to feel free to mix the colours together as they played.
This is something I used to struggle with before making my own playdough. Â It’s expensive, so there was always a desire to keep the colours separate. Â When you make your own though, it costs almost nothing, and you can make a new batch whenever you want, so mixing the colours isn’t an issue.
And it’s SO much more fun when you mix them up! Â We had a little candy/cookie/cake shop going on. Â The results when you blend the colours together are just beautiful, aren’t they?
If you’re looking for a good playdough recipe, head on over to @the imagination tree. Â Anna has some great recipes there. Â Nurturestore also has a free downloadable ebook full of playdough recipes!
Mix up a batch and make your little one’s day!
Looking for another neat playdough activity? Â Check out our potato head playdough! Â So simple and fun!
More Great Dough Recipes for Toddlers and Preschoolers:
White Clay Dough Ornaments for Kids to Make (2 Ingredients)
Easy 2 Ingredient Cloud Dough – Â Ready in 5 minutes!
Ghost Mud Sensory Dough with Toilet Paper, Soap and Water
Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.
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Cathy James (@nurturestore)
Hurrah for mixing it up! Beautiful photos -as always 🙂
happyhooligans
Thanks, Cathy! They get so much more out of it when you let them mix it up! It’s like candy for the eyes!
crystal@growingajeweledrose
Beautiful photos! I love how the hooligans were free to mix it up!
happyhooligans
Thanks, Crystal! I think I had as much fun mixing it up as the Hooligans did. 🙂
Rebekah @ The Golden Gleam
What fun to explore however they wish with the beautiful play dough that you made for them!
happyhooligans
Thanks, Rebekah!
Cristi
So lovely!
melanielaz
Oh I love the colors with this! Love how you mixed the playdough together!
happyhooligans
Thanks, Melanie! It was fun mixin’ it up. 🙂
happyhooligans
Thanks, Cristi! Glad you enjoyed it so much!
Emily
Where can I get a tray like that? Thanks!!
happyhooligans
I think this might be an old tupperware tray, Emily. I always see lots of sectioned trays at second-hand shops, and you can find lots of really pretty ones at the dollar store.
Misty O'Dell
Hey love your ideas, everything we have tried from your blog has worked and the kudos have enjoyed it. Just wanted to update that the recipe ebook link connects to a $8.99 downloaded “new and improved” ebook rather than the free version…
happyhooligans
Hi Misty. Sorry, but I’m not sure what recipe book you’re referring to. I do have a preschool activity e-book available for download on my blog, but it’s never been “new and improved”, and it’s never been offered free of charge. It’s an 8.99 download that was offered for a couple of dollars less back in April, but that discount was only available for a week when the book was first released. Perhaps you can give me a little more info so I might understand what book you’re referring to.
Robyn
Hi, just wondering if you multiplied that recipe by 6 to get the 6 different colours in those amounts or if that was the original recipe that you just divided up. Thanks.
Jackie Currie
I split one batch into 6 colours, Robyn.