Lavender Play Dough

Today I made some lavender play dough. I used my usual play dough recipe:

• 2 1/2 Cups Flour
• 1/2 Cup Salt
• 1 Packet Koolaid (unsweetened)
• 1 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar

MIX dry ingredients well then add wet:

• 1 Cup Boiling Water
• 3 Tablespoons Oil

Stir together, let cool enough to handle, then knead until elastic. Add additional flour as needed if too sticky. Usually, this recipe doesn't need additional flour. Click on the link above for a printable recipe.

I used 1 packet each of lemonade and grape Koolaid to get the lavender color. The Koolaid doesn't add as much scent as it does color.

I then used my spice grinder to grind up 2 tablespoons of dried lavender flowers and added those to scent it as lavender. I don't like using lavender essential oil, as it can be a major skin irritant.* The flowers add the same scent without the intensity of the concentrated oils and potential allergic reactions.

I also provided dried lavender flowers for the children to add in to the play dough or play with as they chose.

I was surprised that they played with this play dough for the longest time as is, without getting a lot of toys out of our play dough bin. They just LOVED the smell of it and the sensory of the dough and dried lavender flowers.

*Note: Not all essential oils have irritation issues. Lavender and cinnamon essential oils are the most common to cause allergic reactions and skin irritations.
Tags: play doh, play dough, playdough, homemade playdoh, homemade, play, dough, doh, lavender, dried, flowers, art, sensory, sculpture, craft, fine motor, creative, expression, lavender playdough