In honor of Valentine's Day, S and I decided to make strawberry scented pink playdough. 

And oh boy, does it smell delicious!  For this reason, I'd recommend only doing the scented doughs with children old enough to understand that it still isn't for eating (there's so much salt in there, I doubt it would be palatable, but just in case!).  I'd heard of using Duncan Hines Frosting Creations flavor mixes from Play Create Explore, and we thought we'd try it out. 

We decided to use our favorite playdough recipe.  We generally at least double this recipe to make a big bunch of playdough all at once.  Once it's made, so long as you keep it in a sealed container, it lasts several weeks.  You'll need a saucepan or skillet pan, and we just measure all the ingredients directly into that.  

1 cup flour

1 cup water (dissolve 1-2 packets of frosting creations into the water)

2 tsp cream of tartar

1/3 cup salt

1 tbsp of oil

The amount you see below is double the above recipe.

 An older child can help you pour and measure, but even younger toddlers can help pour measured ingredients into the pan.  

Once you have all the ingredients in the pan, be sure to spend a good amount of time stirring.  To get nice smooth playdough, you'll need to get all the lumps out now.  Once you have a nice smooth mixture, go ahead and start heating it on low-medium on your stovetop.  If you have an older child who understands stove safety, they can help you stir.

Keep stirring for several minutes until the mixture starts to thicken into dough.  It will still be sticky - that's OK - but this is the point to transfer it to a table top.

Once it's on a tabletop, you can knead or roll it with your hands until it is no longer sticky.  S and I prefer to break off smaller chunks so it is easier to work with.

Once it's no longer sticky - you're done!  And it's now ready to play with.  S created a man with funny hair and a giant nose (we like to break out the googly eyes when we're playing with playdough), an "M" cookie for Mama, and a tiny hotdog.  She's now used the giant ball of playdoh to create a little world for some of her plastic toys.

 Though we've made playdough ourselves several times now, I really must say adding the Duncan Hines Frosting Creations is amazing!  Our house and hands smell delicious, and the added bonus is that the dye is in the powder mix, so you don't have to add any food coloring or liquid watercolors!  We used one packet and had doubled the playdough recipe.

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All activities here are activities I feel are safe for my own children.  As your child's parents/guardians, you will need to decide what you feel is safe for your family.  I always encourage contacting your child's pediatrician for guidance if you are not sure about the safety/age appropriateness of an activity. All activities on this blog are intended to be performed with adult supervision.  Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when activities call for the use of materials that could potentially be harmful, such as scissors, or items that could present a choking risk (small items), or a drowning risk (water activities), and with introducing a new food/ingredient to a child (allergies).  Observe caution and safety at all times.  The author and blog disclaim liability for any damage, mishap, or injury that may occur from engaging in any of these activities on this blog.