A few days before Leena’s birthday, we made sparkly blue Play Dough party favors for the guests. Here’s our simple recipe:

Best Homemade Play Dough Recipe

In a large mixing bowl, measure:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons cream of tartar (helps with stretchiness)
• few drops of food coloring (or you could use beet or carrot juice to tint)

Then add:

• 1 cup boiling water (heated in a tea kettle)
• lots of glitter (optional)

And stir, stir, stir!

Since this party favor was for a magical Fairy Brunch, we decided to add some extra shakes of silver glitter into the dough before rolling out large balls to put into 125 mL glass jam jars I had in storage from last summer.

Then we decorated the jars with scrapbooking embellishments from our local craft store. Sonya helped tie ribbons around each of the jars.

Then we stored them in the fridge until it was time for the party! (Leaving out one jar for Sonya to play with, of course!)

There are several Play Doh recipes floating around the internet, but I think this recipe is the best. It uses simple ingredients, makes a suitable amount for a toddler to stir and knead, and lasts up to a month when refrigerated.

I leave the jar out on the counter for awhile before we play with the dough, and if it’s still a bit cold, we use our Dragon Breath to warm it in our hands before we begin playing with it. You can also use organic flour and leave out the glitter and food coloring (substituting natural vegetable dyes) to make it a natural, organic dough that’s great for young babies to sculpt!