It’s no secret that we love making our own play dough, and this beautiful Spring flower play dough is definitely a favorite! We’ll be using our basic go-to salt dough recipe as a base, then adding beet powder to naturally dye the dough pink. We mixed fresh flower petals into ours at the end, but you can opt to mix in dried botanicals instead if you prefer. Homemade play dough is a wonderful project material and there are an endless amount of variations that can be made for every season. It is so easy to make with staple pantry ingredients and is great for sensory, loose parts and pretend play. Elliot loves to roll it out to make “cookies” for his play kitchen.

Materials:

– 2 tsp olive or avocado oil
– 1c flour
– 1/2c salt
– 1 tbs cream of tartar
– 1c boiling water
– beet root powder
– fresh flower petals or dried botanicals

Instructions for making homemade flower play dough

Step 1: How to make play dough

Mix the flour, salt and cream of tartar together in a bowl. Carefully add the boiling water into the flour mixture and stir with a spoon until the dough is combined (please be careful if you are working with younger children). Make a well in the center of the dough and add the oil. Knead dough until it is smooth. When you are finished, the dough should be easy to handle and should not stick to your hands. If the dough is too dry, add more water. If it is too sticky, add more flour.

Step 2: Dyeing your play dough

To dye your play dough, make a well in the center of the dough and add your desired amount of beet powder. I used about a 1/2 teaspoon for a lighter pink shade. Mix well by kneading until combined.

Step 3: Adding the flower petals

Now’s the fun part! Start mixing your fresh petals or dried botanicals into the dough and knead to combine. Provide extra loose petals for play. We enjoy rolling it out and using cookie cutters to make pretend cookies. Leftover play dough can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for several days. You can air-dry any creations that you’d like to keep.