Easy No-Cook Lemon and Eucalyptus Play Dough
In preparation for Australia Day next week, I decided to create a batch of play dough in our national colours of green and gold. This lemon and eucalyptus no-cook play dough takes just five minutes to make and it smells gorgeous!
Play dough is always such a calming activity, but the soothing aroma from this batch really added something special to our play. All it took was a few minutes to mix together the ingredients and then we enjoyed a lazy afternoon of creating and learning. Read on for the super simple how-to.
INGREDIENTS FOR NO-COOK PLAY DOUGH
2 1/2 cups of plain (all-purpose) flour
1/2 cup salt
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
2 tablespoons of cream of tartar
1 1/2 cups of boiling water
For the lemon play dough
Yellow food colouring
a tablespoon of lemon juice OR a few drops of lemon essential oil
For the eucalyptus play dough
green food colouring
a few drops of eucalyptus essential oil
HOW TO MAKE 5 MINUTE NO-COOK LEMON AND EUCALYPTUS PLAY DOUGH
1. In a large bowl, add the flour, salt, cream of tartar and vegetable oil and mix together.
2. Slowly add the boiling water to the bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.
3. Remove the play dough from the bowl and divide into two equal portions.
4. To one half of the play dough, add a few drops of yellow food colouring and the lemon juice. To the second half of the play dough add a few drops of green food colouring and eucalyptus oil.
5. Knead the two batches until the colour is mixed through evenly and the play dough is smooth.
That’s it! You are now ready to play!
The smell of lemon and eucalyptus as we played with this dough was wonderful. It is perfect for this warm Summer weather we’ve been having but I also think we’ll make some during Winter. How lovely this would be for those cold Winter days when flu and sniffles take hold. The scent would just be so sweet and comforting.
As I was mixing together this play dough, R asked me why the Australian colours are green and gold when our flag is red, white and blue. Good question! I explained to him that our national colours were inspired by the colours of the Golden Wattle. After showing him a few pictures of this gorgeous bloom he decided to make some golden wattle from the play dough. This was such a lovely sensorial way to learn about our national colours and our native flora.
Not only is this no-cook play dough ridiculously easy to make, but it can be stored for months and will still be as soft and lovely as the day we made it. I find that I need to store it in the fridge. I am guessing this is due to our humid climate, but if you live in the Northern Hemisphere then it would probably be fine to keep in an airtight container in a cupboard. I pop mine into zip lock bags. That way they can be stacked flat one on top of the other and take up next to no room in the fridge. Then we have a grab and go play activity with endless possibilities!
Do you love play dough as much as we do? Looking for new ways to play?
Download the Homemade Play Dough Recipe Book for a whole year’s worth of play!
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This is a blog hop! I’m joining in with some of my fellow Australian kid-bloggers to bring you lots of fun and simple kids activities which are just perfect for celebrating Australia Day. Here’s a list of participating blogs. Have fun!
Week 1Monday January 13th
The Craft Train
Cockatoo Pencil Tins
Tuesday January 14th
Laughing Kids Learn
Aussie scented sensory rice Wednesday January 15th
Danya Banya
Australian Flag with washi tape & glitter Friday January 17th
My Little Bookcase
Possum Magic Themed Party Week 2
Monday January 20th
One Perfect Day 5 Minute No-cook Lemon and Eucalyptus Play Dough
Tuesday January 21st
Racheous – Lovable Learning
Wednesday January 22nd
Wildlife Fun 4 Kids
Thursday January 23rd
Childhood 101
Cooking with Kids: Mini lamington cupcakes
Friday January 24th
Final Round up at The Craft Train.
Heading on a family trip? Read our Tips for Traveling with Kids
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