Categories: Recipe

Homemade Playdough without Cream of Tartar

Published by
James marcus

This Homemade Playdough without Cream of Tartar is the perfect activity for kids of all ages! It’s easy to make, and you don’t need any special ingredients. Just a handful of basic ingredients, a few minutes of time and you’re done making this simple playdough recipe! Kids will love this soft, squishy playdough and you can make it any color they want.

Homemade Playdough without Cream of Tartar

I love making things myself for the kids. Not only is it cheaper but I can also make it on a whim when we run out but the kids get involved making it with me so it adds to the fun. This homemade play dough recipe is one that we have made for years. I started making it when my now 17 year old was a toddler and my now 5 year old enjoys making it and playing with it as well.

I love sensory play in my house for younger children, it helps them with fine motor skills and it is always something the kids love to do. Many times we would find dried out playdough from the kids not putting it away properly and it ended in tears. So I set out to make an easy play dough recipe so I could make a quick batch of playdough any time I needed to. Being able to make my own playdough at home avoided many tearful situations when my kids were younger.

If you want to make your own playdough without cream of tartar, then you will love this simple recipe. Making homemade play dough is a fun activity to do with your kids. It’s also a great way to save money on store-bought play dough. This recipe doesn’t require any cream of tartar, so it’s easy and convenient to make.

We love making our own play dough, and aside from being so easy to make this soft playdough is easily customized so you can make all the colors that you want. You can even add in scents to make scented playdough. They will love playing with this dough that feels just like the real thing. I have made this no cook playdough recipe for a long time and every time I make it the kids love it.

When we make this DIY playdough recipe I make multiple colors at a time. This recipe will make enough playdough for one color, if you have a kiddo who loves play dough then I suggest making a few different colors. You can easily double, triple or even 10 times this recipe to make all of the colors that your kids want to have.

Playdough Recipes

  • Homemade Playdough Recipe
  • Gingerbread scented playdough
  • Frosting Playdough
  • Glitter playdough

What is the Best Way to Color Homemade Playdough?

You can use any type of food coloring to color your play dough and make it all different colors. I prefer using gel food coloring because a little bit goes a long way and you get vivid colors of playdough. You can find this type of food coloring at most craft stores or online. Another great option is natural food coloring. This is made from fruits and vegetables and it’s a great way to color your dough without using synthetic dyes.

If you want to avoid food coloring all together, you can use spices to color your dough. For example, turmeric will give you a yellow color, while cocoa powder will give you a brown color. There are many options for natural coloring, so have fun experimenting!

How to Scent Homemade Playdough without Cream of Tartar

When it comes to scents, you can use any type of essential oils or extract. My personal favorite is vanilla extract because it gives the dough a nice, sweet smell. You can also use peppermint oil, lemon oil, or any other type of oil that you like. Just add a few drops and knead it into the dough until it’s evenly distributed. I will tell you that my personal preference is not to make our play doh scented. While it smells great, the kids tend to want me to make each color a different smell and then the scents combined together have made for some very interesting scents. I suggest if you are going to make it scented that you stick with the same scent for all of the playdough you are making.

How to store Homemade Playdough

I prefer to keep this playdough in the refrigerator. The cream of tartar in other playdough recipes helps preserve the dough and keep it stable. Since this recipe doesn’t use cream of tartar, you want to take extra steps to make it last. When you store it in the cold temperatures, it will last for about 2 weeks. If you keep it at room temperature it will last for about 3 days. The best way to store it is in plastic ziplock bags or in an airtight container.

How to soften playdough?

This playdough should last for 2 to 3 weeks. Sometimes, it gets hard, dried out, and tough to play with but you can easily fix this easy homemade playdough recipe.

The easiest way to to soften the dough is to put a little olive oil on your (or the kid’s) hands. As you play with it, as usual, the oil will get into the play dough and it will soften it up. Another way to add just a small amount of water and then work it in well. Both these things will work the moisture back into the playdough and help it get back to feeling like new.

How to Fix wet playdough

If your playdough is too wet from using a lot of food coloring to make deeper and darker colors you may need to add more flour. This can also happen if you are using liquid scents.

How to fix dry playdough

If you find your playdough is to dry when making it add a little bit more water and mix it well.

Play dough activity ideas

Aside from just playing with it, and using cookie cutters playdough is great for fun activities too. Here are a few of our fun playdough activities that the kids love.

  • Snowman Playdough Activity
  • Pumpkin People Play-Doh Halloween Activity
  • Playdough flossing. This one is great for teaching the kids how to floss!

Homemade Playdough without Cream of Tartar Ingredients and Supplies

  • All purpose Flour
  • Table Salt
  • Water
  • Lemon Juice
  • Oil. I used Vegetable Oil but you can also use olive oil.
  • 2-4 drops of Food Coloring (Gel Preferred)
  • mixing bowls
  • Measuring Spoons
  • Measuring cups
  • Wooden spoon (for mixing)

How to make Homemade Playdough without Cream of Tartar

In a medium bowl add the water and the food coloring and mix to combine.

In a large mixing bowl add the salt and flour and mix well to combine.

Add the vegetable oil and lemon juice to the dry ingredients and mix well to combine the wet ingredients with the dry.

Add in a little water at a time – I like doing it in 2 tablespoon increments and mix to combine adding water as needed until the play dough forms and you have a perfect consistency.

Sensory Play for Kids

  • Kenetic Sand
  • Color Rice for Sensory bins
  • Pudding Slime
  • Floam Slime

This post was last modified on 24/10/2023 19:38

James marcus

Garden Courte is a blog written by [James Marcus], a passionate gardener and writer. She has been gardening for over 20 years and has a deep understanding of plants and how to care for them. In her blog, she shares her knowledge and experience with others, providing tips and advice on gardening, plant care, and more.

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Published by
James marcus

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