DIY Play Dough Kit

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Taking a moment to break from sewing and talk a bit about children’s activities again. How many of you all have seen these sweet Play Dough Kits on Instagram and Pinterest?! I saw them about a year ago and have been obsessed ever since. They’re extremely photogenic, very engaging, so fun to watch kiddos play with and come organized in an amazing container. I love toys that have an easily storable container (I’m not sure why all toys don’t have an easily storable container) so I am a sucker for these things.

Confession: I am a do-er. I often see other people making/doing something and immediately think that I can do it myself as well. Whether I really can or not. My husband and I have renovated two homes, I’ve taught myself to sew, I love dabbling in chalk paint, furniture restoration, etc. Because these kits looked like something I could handle I decided to give it a go. As with my other projects, I learned a ton on these and thought I’d share.

First; this is the box. It is insanely well-priced at $3.99. Shipping seems to be the same whether 1-10 boxes are ordered so it became immediately obvious to me that I would be making 1-10 of these kits at once.

Second; this may come as a surprise, but the play doh is key. The play dough that comes in these kits smells and feels amazing. I mean, I wanted to play with this stuff…play dough usually grosses me out. There seem to be lots of ways to achieve this. Here is the recipe I used. I tried a few different recipes and often found that I had to add more oil than it called for.

I also added in several drops of different essential oils. I am not a person who has those laying around so I purchased some online. Which somehow managed to send me down an essential oil rabbit hole….I have never been an essential oil girl but the play doh smells so good! So here’s what I used to make my play dough smell yummy. I ended up going with Plant Therapy oils but there are TONS of options. I just read the descriptions to get the scents I was after. I chose lemon grass and bergamot for the green, rose otto and geranium for the red, blue tansy for the yellow…I have no idea what these are supposed to do for one’s moods or health…I just know that I like the smells.

Third; it is more logical to buy in bulk on all fronts. It is significantly less expensive to buy this animal set from Etsy or this one from Walmart than it is to buy individual animals for each kit. Naturally, I couldn’t decide and bought both. I think the Walmart option was a better deal. If you opt for the Etsy one, check out there shop…it is so good and has tons of Montessori-based, hands-on items for kids.

Fourth; Etsy, Walmart and Amazon, are your friend. There are SO MANY cute little things to put in these kits once you start looking. Here are some of the items I chose for my farm based play dough kit that could also be used for a fairy house kit, construction kit, zoo kit, etc. This little farmer peg doll . These fun blocks. This adorable fencing. I also went outside and found some tiny pine cones. Some key words to use when searching for items to put in the boxes are: miniature, fairy garden, figurine, doll house decor, doll accessories, novelty, child-sized.

Fifth; they are called sensory play dough kits for a reason. It seems to be imperative to try to stimulate as many senses as possible. Bright visuals, delicious smells, and interesting textures seem to be key.

While I LOVED making these kits, I’m not sure that it saved me money in any way really…if anything I probably spent more than if I’d purchased a kit from BrightBoxPlayKit or YoungWildandFriedman. These ladies seem to really have it down pat and offer their kits at very affordable prices. If you want to take a stab at it too, here is everything I used.