Homemade Stress Relieving PlayDough

By: Camaryn Wheeler, Dominic Trabosci, and Matthew Derstine

Let’s face it: life is stressful. Schoolwork, jobs, deadlines, emails, events, family, and so much more. At some point, we all could use a little break. In this tutorial, we aim to provide a fun, fast, and calming craft that almost anyone can make in their own home. The following is a recipe for homemade, stress-relieving dough for teens and adults.

With this recipe, you can make satisfying, super-soft dough combined with the therapeutic aromas of essential oils (which have been shown to ease anxiety and calm the individual). Are you a college student who needs a quick break from school work? Try our dough! Are you a fidgety person? Try our dough! Are you an adult that needs an excuse to make a craft? Try our dough! We recommend that NO children follow our recipe because a stove or burner is required to complete the craft. You will find any possible allergies in our materials list. Our dough is vegan, non-toxic, cruelty-free, and NOT for human consumption.

Supplies

Materials:

- Flour (1 cup)

- Baby Powder (¼ cup)

- Salt (¼ cup) Avoid rubbing the salt directly on your skin.

- Cream of Tartar (2 teaspoons)

- Baby Oil (1 Tablespoon) Can cause a potential skin reaction in some.

- Water (¾ cup)

- Gel Food Coloring - The color is up to you :)

- Essential Oils - Certain scents may cause an allergic reaction in some people.

Tools:

- Measuring Cups

- Measuring Spoons

- Medium-Sized Mixing Bowl

- Wooden Spoon for mixing

- Stove Pan (non-stick preferable)

Step 1:

Combine all of the dry materials (flour, baby powder, salt, cream of tartar) in the mixing bowl. Mix them together with the wooden spoon.

Step 2:

Add the baby oil and water to the mixing bowl and mix the ingredients until the mix becomes thick.

Step 3:

Add about 6-7 drops of food coloring total to the mixture. (Too much food coloring can temporarily color skin when using the dough.) Mix thoroughly.

Step 4:

Move the mixture from the mixing bowl to the pan and place the pan on a stovetop or burner. Turn the stove on low to medium heat.

Step 5:

Cook the dough by stirring it in the pan until the dough is no longer sticky. This should take around 5 to 10 minutes. If the mixture is too dry, slowly add water to the pan until it reaches the desired consistency. If the mixture is still too sticky after 10 minutes, add flour and baby powder until the dough is drier. Add in 1 or 2 drops of food coloring if the dough has too many white patches.

Step 6:

As soon as the dough reaches your desired consistency and color, remove it from the pan and place it on a clean, flat surface. Squeeze and knead the dough in your hands with a pinch bit of baby powder.

Step 7:

While kneading and squishing the dough in your hands, add 2 drops of your favorite essential oil to the dough.

Step 8:

Your dough is complete! Store it in an airtight container or plastic bag to ensure the longevity of your new dough. If the dough dries out, revitalize it with a drop or two of water.

All in all, this recipe is extremely easy to make as well as follow. Following these procedures can help all sorts of people from old to young relieve stress, and ultimately bring out a side of you that you have not seen since you were younger. This dough is beneficial to a hard-working person who just needs something to do to distract themselves from the realities of an anxiety-ridden and stressful world. It's much more satisfying to create your own dough instead of buying it, plus it takes your mind off of anything that may be bothering you. It's a win, win. Why not try it for yourself?