It has been a long time since I have shared a fun kid activity or recipes. Far too long! So here is our newest creation. It is all-natural (except for the glitter) and beautifully colored with powered flower petals.

Red & Blue Make Purple!

This month we are studying the color purple at preschool so of course our play doh of the month needed to be purple! I am constantly searching for affordable effective natural colors to add to play doh and this month it’s hibiscus. The hibiscus gives the play doh a purply-red color while the lavender blossoms we added had a purply-blue color. We then added some beautiful dark purple glitter. All these different shades of purple gave us a great chance to talk about the blending of the color purple and how some purples have more of a red color and some are more blue.

~ Ingredients ~

1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of salt
1 cup of water
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tablespoon oil
¼ to ½ cup powdered dark red hibiscus flowers, I powdered my own in a coffee grinder. Your child would probably love to help you do this!
10 to 20 drops of lavender essential oil
lavender flowers
dark purple (or other purple) glitter

~ Method ~

Combine dry ingredients (except for the lavender flowers and glitter) in a sauce pan. Add the water and oil (except for the lavender essential oil). Stir together and heat slowly over low heat. Stir almost constantly until the play doh sets up. Let it cool to warm before playing, playdough right off the stove is hot. The play doh will go from red to a special purply color as it cooks like magic!

~ Special Playtime! ~

I like to encourage the kids to get involved with our play doh making by giving them lovely things to add to their play doh. Our purply play doh called for lavender blossoms and purple glitter! I gave each child a small pile of lavender blossoms and glitter which they then sprinkled and smushed into their play doh. Such fun!

We also added some relaxing lavender essential oil. I often use essential oils in play doh for kids. It is a great way for them to get an aromatic experience while also enjoying the benefits of playing wth play doh. To do this I have each child make a hole in their play doh. I then add 1 to 2 drops of essential oil to the play doh and mix it in myself. This way the children's skin is not exposed to undiluted essential oil. Please supervise children when using essential oils and keep the bottles safely up out of reach.