DIY Pumpkin Spice Play Dough

Playing with play dough is an activity that I don't think ever gets old. I'm not sure O will ever tire of playing with it, and frankly, I don't think Keith or I will either. There are so many fun variations of things you can do with play dough -- there are the obvious things like, sculpt animals or objects, roll it with rolling pins or even cut it with cookie cutters, and then there's scented doughs! I thought with it being Fall and all O might enjoy some pumpkin scented play dough!

Not only is play dough fun, but it also has many benefits! It encourages fine motor skills and helps strengthen all the small muscles in their little hands. It encourages creativity and can be used to create pretend food, little scenes with animals (zoo, ocean, forest), jewelry -- the list is as endless as a child’s imagination!

recipe source: small friendly

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/4 cup of salt
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or a mix of cinnamon/nutmeg/cloves)
optional: food coloring or natural food based dyes (such as beet juice and turmeric)

Instructions:

• Combine all ingredients, omitting the food coloring, in a large pot.
• Stir over medium heat until a big ball forms. It should be smooth and no longer sticky.
• Remove from pot and allow to cool until the dough can be worked by hand.
• Divide the dough into however many different colors you want.
• Work the colors into the dough by adding a few drops at a time and then kneading until the color is evenly incorporated.

 

I made red (about 5-6 drops of red food coloring), orange (about 5 drops of red and 10 drops of yellow food coloring), yellow (about 5-6 drops of yellow food coloring) and brown (left as is) dough since they're fall colors. 

 

We've been having so much fun with our scented play dough! When we're done playing with it I simply roll the colors into balls (hopefully without too many of the colors mixed together) and store them together in a small plastic air-tight container.