Once you make your own homemade play dough it might be tough to go back to the store bought stuff! This homemade play dough recipe is so easy and fun that even the kids can help. The best part is that the play dough stores well for months, saving you tons of money if you go through the stuff often!

Saving money makes me happy. Saving money while being crafty makes me even happier! For years my holiday play dough recipes have been a hit on the blog, so I figured I should post a general everyday recipe for play dough.  This is the same recipe I used for the fall play dough and Valentine’s Day play dough with a few seasonal changes.

My kids love helping me make play dough. I let them measure and pour the ingredients into the bowl. I love that it becomes an educational activity by adding measuring into the mix!

Play Dough Recipe

Ingredients to make your own play dough

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup salt
2 Tablespoons cream of tartar
3 Tablespoons oil (I use coconut oil)
1 1/2 cups of water
your choice of food coloring (I like this one with no artificial dyes)

How to make your own play dough

Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a bowl. Boil the water and add 10-15 drops of red food coloring once boiling. Stir well. Mix water in with the other ingredients and let sit for 10-30 minutes.

Tip: if it seems too sticky, keep adding cream of tartar and flour until you get the consistency you prefer. Sometimes I need more, other times I need less. The humidity has a lot to do with it.

You can also add glitter and scents such as vanilla. I do this when I make my Valentine’s Day play dough. Or go simple and just add muted colors. I always try to do seasonal colors. This was our spring batch of play dough.

 It’s fun when I let the boys pick the colors. Even though our recent batch was for spring, it does look a bit Christmas like doesn’t it?

 It’s amazing how long my boys will entertain themselves with play dough. Oftentimes I let them play while I made dinner. It’s a great way to pass the time when I don’t want to be super hands on with the kids. They don’t need any help being creative! I can set it out and let them have fun.

Bonus tip: How to get play dough out of the carpet!

You have to know this trick for getting play dough out of the carpet!

It comes right out of the carpet if you let it dry.  That is the trick: let. it. dry.

Don’t rub it in.  Trust me on this one.  I may have had a few pink areas in our carpet for a couple of days when I first learned how to make play dough.

Love this recipe? Pin it for later!

Watch the video with instructions on how to make your own play dough

Check out this video to see exactly how easy it is to even get the kids involved!

What are your favorite play dough recipes?

Here are a few of my other favorites:

Valentine’s Day Play Dough

Fall Play Dough

Easy Play Dough Recipe

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