How to Make Playdough (Play-doh)

Step 4 Play and store

Play with your playdough- I really don't need to help you there. It's entirely edible, if a bit salty, so it's kid-safe.

When you're done, store your playdough in an air-tight container.
- If it begins to dry out, you can knead a bit of water in again to soften the dough back to useability. Once it's dried past a certain point, however, you'll just have to start over; thankfully it's not terribly difficult.
- If it gets soggy, you can re-heat it to drive off the extra water the dough absorbed overnight.  This is usually the result of high humidity, but is fixable!

You can also bake it in the oven to make hard dough figures and ornaments, then paint or otherwise decorate the surface.  One of the comments below even suggests using baked play-dough as a salt lick for your pet rabbit!  (thanks, redcore4!)

Comments

[CraftyCritters]

To help the smell : if you like cinnamon add it SMELLS GREAT!!!! :)

[heidii19]

when do you add the scenced oils?!?!?!?!? :/

[mo'chickenstrip]

I would add them after it cools a bit- if you heat up the oils they break down and lose their strength

[arrmkr]

I made this dough quite a while ago and the kids absolutely love it. Has held up well, but now it smells terrible! Any suggestions to get rid of the smell, besides making a new batch?

[Nelson_Yepez]

well remember that after all it is food, unlike the store brand this does not have preservatives and all the extra stuff but they are made almost the same way, so eventually its is going to spoil.

[lotusduck]

the salt is a pretty good preservative, but i agree that it doesn't last forever.

[wizard21]

thts my birthday

[lofidelity]

I made some ornaments out of it for the grandparents for christmas ....so i rubbed it with peppermint extract. smells great! You can also use essential oils (but some oils can be caustic to the skin so be careful)

[4paws]

That was great! Took me 10 mins tops, and now one happy 3 year old! I used a big wide based aluminium pan to help the dough dry out faster and more evenly, put the heat on low, and ta da! Super. Thanks a million!

[CraftChick]

I made this with my toddler sis and 11 year old bro and they were dissapointed that they couldnt eat it. in the recipe substitue half of the salt content for sugar.if the kid must, they can eat it without gagging on the saltiness

[JobieAshes]

I'd say you'd add the scent the same time you added the color.

[mike.x535]

i don't think i have any food coloring  , so can i add some paint or anything else as a replacement for the food coloring . if i can't from where can i get some food colorings.

[canida]

Only use food-safe colors! Kool-aid packets (the kind with no sugar) make great coloring substitutes.

[DrHoppe]

No you can't use paint. Food coloring is in the baking isle at any grocery store.

[bankersgirl]

Do you think fabric dye would cause problems? The funny thing is most people have food coloring at home, I have fabric dye.

[DrHoppe]

If you are making it for children to play with you should automatically assume they will eat it or put in in some orifice with thin membranes as a matter of course. Better safe than sitting in the emergency room. Drop the 99 cents at the grocery store for food coloring...

[raybkchan]

Great instructable, I followed the instructions and made great play dough fresh off the hob! However, when I stored it overnight in a plastic airtight tub, the dough turned back into a sticky mess. Anyone know why and how can I get it back to normal?

[canida]

Just cook it a bit more to drive the water out. You probably live in a humid area, and the dough reabsorbed water!

[redcore4]

my mum used to make this for us when we are little. if you like the models you have made with it, you can dry them in a low oven so they go hard and you can then varnish them to keep them. we also used to use them (baked) to make salt licks for our pet rabbits.

[bankersgirl]

Mine too!!!! She would make all the colors in the rainbow and we would make all sorts of stuff including the Christmas ornaments. Never thought of using them as a salt lick though, that was very inventive. Then again I never had a rabbit, so the issue never came up.

[Ecchin]

This was made with different types of food... Doesn't it rotten? :x I don't want mole on my play doh

[rebeljohn747]

did you forget that salt is a preservative as well?

[adelie]

According to the wiki page on play-doh, borax is used as a reasonably non-toxic preservative. I expect that not much more than a teaspoon would be plenty to have the desired effect. Of course, look into it a bit. Borax is used as a preservative in many noodles, but also illegal in some countries (as a food preservative) for potential health risks.

[sharlston]

NO THIS IS NORMAIL PLAY DOUGH BUT THE MANUFACTURERS JUST PUT CHEMICALS ON THE CONTENTS TO MAKE IT LOOK COMPLICATED

[adelie]

No disrespect, but I find that to be an exceptionally ignorant thing to say. Also, yes, this recipe will mold over time. According to US patent #6713624 (the patent for playdoh Hasbro got in 2004) adds borax (a kind of salt / soap) that is not very toxic and used as a food preservative in countries where it is legal. The "big scary words" like amylopectin is just a very specific name for a certain type of starch that helps keep the playdoh from naturally breaking down for other reasons. They call this a "retrograde inhibitor". Another big word like "surfactant" just means "something that helps make the oil and water mix better", like a soap. All these things help make the playdoh smoother, elastic / stretchy, consistent, and well protected from mold / bacteria, and keeps it like new for as long as you remember to put the lid back on after you are done playing with it. As for Flash Gordon's comment about the "spelling errors", I think he was actually referring to the entire structure of the sentence. While I think I know what you meant to say, what you actually said instead is pretty hilarious if you can imagine it. Not to mention that the use of caps is simply priceless. Play-doh(tm) is a premium product for which many people would be willing to substitute with a cheaper slightly inferior alternative, however, their success shows it is a product for many people worth paying for. And can I kindly request that you not ever force me to defend a patent for a major corporation ever again? Thanks.

[Stephen D. Alverez]

if this was at all science related, I would have said the same thing. And to sharlston, 1 out of 19 words is in fact, horrible, for me grammar is pretty big, being that my father was an English teacher, and that we have a wonderful, helpful device called spell check, and its just a click away.

[SEANandJUDE123]

Considering your father was an English teacher, you have a two sentence paragraph. In other words, there is a tremendous run on sentence going on from And, to away. Your father would be disappointed... ;-)

[sharlston]

ok sorry but im not the best at typing on computers

[sharlston]

oh ok but companies do do that when i bought some sticker removal stuff and all it was was wd40

[Flash Gordon]

Awesome spelling errors.

[sharlston]

i spelt 1 word wrong in 19 words better than a lot of people

[dwright8]

Sharlston, ignore these a!!holes. I'm an absolute grammar and spelling fanatic too but that doesn't give people like Stephen the right to be an elitist knob, especially as this is about Playdoh and not spelling! A lot of people who are much smarter than you are sitting in the corner and not trying to be centre of attention Stephen. Thanks for your input on the Playdoh Sharlston, and don't apologize to w@nkers in the future honey :D

[Flash Gordon]

Hahahahaha.... Haha

[watchingandhi]

This looks terrific. What do you use for scents?

[FunkNattidelic]

extracts. i used vanilla for mine. =P
my sister wanted mint though.

[Stephen D. Alverez]

That makes it even more tempting to eat! I remember I used to munch on play-doh, and now with it being filled with kool-aid and vanilla, it seems like a decent snack!
     
I:D->---<
        

[didiisbored]

This was awesome! It worked and i didnt use tar tar thingo so yeah IT WORKED IT WAS QUICK AND EASY :P

[pepkate]

I tried this its works! At first mine got sticky and sloppy...but I read the directions again and cooked it for 5 more minutes on the stove and tried to mold it. You have to kinda mold it for it not to stick.:)

[cuti3xpie8]

I made playdough and I put -2 cups of flower -2 cups of warm water -1 cup salt -2 tablespoons of vegetable oil -1 tablespoon of cream of tartar and then I mixed all the ingredients I stirred it over low heat it began to get little chunks and I didn't have food coloring so I put kool aid in it and then like it had little chucks and its not play dough so hopefully when I put it in the refrigarater in a glad bag and it might get hard like play dough.... Did i do something wrong?

[joeshaggy]

what you did wrong was that you didnt stir it long enough mine took 10 minutes with about medium heat