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Tag Archives: play dough activities

Witch’s Brew Play Dough Kit

10 / 15 / 1810 / 19 / 18

Witch s Brew Play Dough Kit | Mama Papa Bubba

Oh how I love putting together play dough kits!  After years and years of them being one of our play staples {as well as our go-to homemade gift}, Miss G sort of moved onto really loving other types of play around the time Sam was born {#sadday}.  Then when Sam was finally ready for it, we stuck with our taste-safe baby play dough and our go-to no-cook play dough for a long while before moving onto full-on play dough kits with loads of fun loose parts included, so it’s been a minute.  Recently we’ve done a really awesome Little Blue Truck play dough kit {which I’ll be sure to share soon} as well as an autumn spice dough with whole spices, but this witch’s brew play dough kit is our newest kit and it’s been oh so much fun.

Witch's Brew Play Dough Kit | Mama.Papa.Bubba.{this post contains affiliate links}

To make it, I started out by making three separate batches of our go-to super squishy, no-cook play dough.  This time around, I skipped the Kool-Aid and Frosting Creation packs and simply made unscented doughs in vibrant Halloween-inspired colours using my favourite Wilton gel colourings.

Witch's Brew Play Dough Kit | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Then it was off to our Halloween bin downstairs to find some fun loose parts to add to our kit.  Here’s what Sam and I found {all purchased at Dollarama in previous years}…  Some small plastic rats, mini spiders, flies, and ants, some purple bats, and some monster googly eyes.

Witch's Brew Play Dough Kit | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Of course a play dough kit means a GLIS divided container from Ikea, so we dug one of those out too.  {Seriously one of my very favourite things to buy at Ikea.  So much so that I always keep a few extras on hand for gifts and fun projects.}

Witch's Brew Play Dough Kit | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Alright, so here’s how we organized our kit!   Our freshly made play dough in one of the big spots {I’d first place this in a big zip-close bag if giving the kit as a gift or storing it for any amount of time as the containers aren’t air-tight}…

Witch's Brew Play Dough Kit | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Our little creepy loose parts in the small slots in the front…

Witch's Brew Play Dough Kit | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

And some mini ‘cauldrons’ {aka apple sauce containers} and some play kitchen utensils for stirring the brew along the side.

Witch's Brew Play Dough Kit | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

We also tucked our rats in with the cauldrons and utensils as that’s where we had space.

Witch's Brew Play Dough Kit | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Here’s the finished kit!  Wouldn’t this make a lovely gift when paired with a copy of Room on the Broom?  Especially for a kiddos with a birthday or party around Halloween?  I also love the idea of making these and gifting them to your child’s preschool or Kindergarten class… I mean which teacher wouldn’t appreciate a ready-made sensory activity for her munchkins to enjoy??

Witch's Brew Play Dough Kit | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

The best thing about play dough kits like these?  ANYTHING GOES.

Witch's Brew Play Dough Kit | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Miss G opted to use one of the big cauldrons we use for Halloween goodies for her witches brew…

Witch's Brew Play Dough Kit | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

And Sam stacked his brew up nice and high and layered creepy crawlies in between.

When they were done, the kiddos removed the little bits and bobs from the play dough, sorted them back into the container {awesome sorting practice for kiddos Sam’s age}, and I popped the play dough into a zip-close bag before putting it back into our divided container and closing it up.

Witch s Brew Play Dough Kit || Mama Papa Bubba

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Autumn Spice Play Dough with Whole Spices

9 / 20 / 189 / 20 / 18

Autumn Spice Play Dough with Whole Spices | Mama Papa Bubba

Welp, the first official day of fall is nearly here and I’m doing my best to embrace it despite the fact that the arrival of fall means we’re that much closer to another loonnnnng winter in our small town. A loonnnng winter in our small town that nearly did me in last year.  Now if it were to stay fall for a few months and we got to soak in that crisp fall air mixed with little bursts of sun, the beautiful autumn colours, and sweater weather for a while before transitioning into the snow, freezing cold, parkas, and permanently feeling like a block of ice, I’d totally be down for that.  Come on Mother Nature, work with me here! {Pleeeaaase.}

I usually switch up our play dough and play dough kits each season despite the fact that our go-to homemade play dough can last even longer than that {our black, sparkly play dough that was part of our tinker play dough activity is still going strong!}, so this week Sam and I whipped up the most delicious smelling autumn spice play dough.

Autumn Spice Play Dough with Whole Spices

It’s just our basic no-cook play dough recipe {made without food colouring or flavour packets} with a few of our favourite fall spices added to it, and let me tell you – it smells divine!  {We chose to use cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, but if we would have had allspice on hand, I would have added that too!}

To make it, we measure out our dry ingredients plus our vegetable oil and glycerine into a large bowl.

IMG 5348

Then we whisk it up really well.

Autumn Spice Play Dough with Whole Spices

Next, I add the boiling water and immediately mix it {quite vigorously} to get the texture as uniform as possible.  As soon as it’s cool enough to handle, I get my hands in there, bring it all together in a ball…

Autumn Spice Play Dough with Whole Spices

And then dump it out onto a clean, dry countertop.

Autumn Spice Play Dough with Whole Spices

The one question I always get asked about our play dough is how we get such a smooth texture, and it’s all about the kneading!  I knead our play dough for probably a solid 2 or 3 minutes, or until it’s pretty much cool.  I know that there’s a proper way to knead doughs, but when it comes to our play dough recipe, I start with it all in a mass close to me…

Autumn Spice Play Dough with Whole Spices

Then I push it away from me while using a decent amount of pressure to flatten it right out.  Then I pull it back and repeat.  (Many, many times.)  I find that this method works well when the dough is still a little sticky {our recipe tends to feel a little wet until completely cool} and it really works to get rid of any little lumps an bumps that might be hiding in the dough.  By the time it’s completely cool, the dough should be smooth as can be and should no longer be sticky.

Autumn Spice Play Dough with Whole Spices

Can you tell how smooth it is?

Autumn Spice Play Dough with Whole Spices

I’m pretty sure we’ve made some version of this play dough every fall since Miss G was one or two years old, and I love pairing it with natural loose parts.  We often go out on a nature walk and collect conkers, acorns, pinecones, and pretty leaves to pair it with, but another favourite over the years has been whole spices and that’s what we decided to go with this time around.

Autumn Spice Play Dough with Whole Spices

Sam and I popped by our local bulk store and picked up some cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, whole allspice, whole nutmeg, some anise stars, and some whole cloves – all of which smell amazing and have interesting shapes and textures.  Then I popped everything into one of my favourite divided trays {I got this one in Kuwait at City Star in Egaila} and set it out on the table with a couple of placemats for the kids to discover after school.

Autumn Spice Play Dough with Whole Spices

I love having some sort of invitation to play or create out on the table in the afternoons…  It’s always something that is open-ended and requires very little / no adult help, which means that they can just dive in and play or create independently, which I think is good for all of us, but especially Grae.

IMG 5386

After a long day at school, I really find that she just needs some time to unwind and decompress… Some time when there’s nothing expected of her and nothing she has to do on a timeline – and creating or reading seem to be two really good options for her.

Autumn Spice Play Dough with Whole Spices

I often pick a chilled out, calming playlist on Spotify and play that too, which really sets the mood for some low-key, focused play.

Autumn Spice Play Dough with Whole Spices

Autumn Spice Play Dough with Whole Spices

Of course with play dough and loose parts, there’s really no end goal.  Miss G usually works on some sort of careful creation…

Autumn Spice Play Dough with Whole Spices

While sam loves to burry and poke and dig and hide.

Autumn Spice Play Dough with Whole Spices

Both of which are equally valuable, important ways to play.

Autumn Spice Play Dough | Mama Papa Bubba

Here’s our autumn spice play dough recipe…

Autumn Spice Play Dough

  • 1 cup of all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup of  table salt
  • 1 tablespoon of cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cloves
  • 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon of glycerine
  • 3/4 cup of boiling water (measured in a dry measuring cup – this is important as wet and dry measures aren’t the same)

Place all of the ingredients, save the boiling water, in a bowl and whisk well.  Measure the water using your dry measuring set and add it to the bowl.  Give the mixture a quick mix with a wooden spoon, banging off it off every once and a while.  At this point, the mixture may seem too wet and sticky to make good play dough… Do not fret!  Once the dough has cooled just a little, use your hands to carefully bring it into and ball and then dump it out onto the countertop and knead really well.  You’ll know you’re done when the dough is fully cooled, soft and squishy, and no longer sticky

Enjoy!

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Tinker Play Dough

1 / 14 / 181 / 17 / 18

Tinker Play Dough | Mama Papa Bubba

Welp, Miss G went back to school yesterday and we’re officially missing her already.  {Not to mention the slow mornings, pajama days, and general lack of a schedule we had over the break.}  I told myself that I’d sign Sam and I up for some fun things come January, but honestly, I just haven’t done it yet…  Besides the fact that Vernon isn’t overflowing with options and our school drop-off / midday nap / school pick-up routine really only allows for a class or program between the hours of 9 and 11 am, I know that any play-based program with shared toys will most likely mean sickness after sickness for Sam because a) cold and flu season and b) preemie immune systems suck.  And he’s still recovering from his post-Christmas sickness!  So for now, we’re sticking with our snowy walks, coffee shop visits here and there, and a whole lot of play at home. 

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Play Dough Fairy Gardens

3 / 15 / 173 / 19 / 17

Play Dough Fairy Gardens | Mama Papa Bubba

I try really hard not to be that person who is constantly complaining about the weather {because who are we kidding – we have it so good here in Vancouver}, but let me tell you…  I am SO ready for spring.  Not that cold, grey, rainy everyday version of spring either.  I’m ready for full-on sunshiny spring with blossoming trees, the buzzing of bees, warm temperatures, and rainy days only here and there.  I’ve been willing it to come our way for weeks if I’m being honest.  And with all of that wishful thinking, I was reminded of the amazing play dough fairy gardens Miss G and I did last year.  

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Baby Play Dough

1 / 29 / 172 / 1 / 17

Baby Play Dough | Mama Papa Bubba

If you know me well, you know that my love for play dough runs deep.  I’ve loved it for ages… It was a total lifesaver while babysitting and nannying as a teenager and university student, it was a staple in my Kindergarten classrooms when teaching, and it’s always out and available in our house now that I’m a mama.  Over the years, Miss G and I have created some pretty amazing recipes…  Amazing sand dough, gorgeous starry galaxy dough, lemony dough made with real lemon zest, chai tea latte dough, super soft chocolate dough, celebration dough full of foil glitter, the most fragrant ever gingerbread dough, vanilla mint dough {one of my favourite ever scent combos}, pumpkin spice dough made with real pumpkin…  The list could go on.

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Snowman Play Dough Kit

1 / 18 / 172 / 1 / 17

Snowman Play Dough Kit | Mama Papa Bubba

Miss G and I had so much fun with our gingerbread people and christmas tree play dough kits over the holidays that I figured we’d better sneak one more winter themed kit in before spring arrives.  This one, a snowman play dough kit, has become a yearly occurence in our house.  We’ve even made mini build a snowman play dough kits to gift our friends with in the past.  

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Play Dough Apple Tree Life Cycle

10 / 7 / 1610 / 17 / 16

play-dough-apple-trees-through-the-seasons-mama-papa-bubba

If you know us well, you know we loooove play dough.  We almost always have 3 or 4 play dough kits on hand and for the past several years, they’ve been something Miss G has regularly taken out and played with.  That being said, we’ve sort of been on a play dough break recently…  Miss G has other things she’s super passionate about at the moment {mainly ‘inventing’ and reading – always reading} and with her being in school full days this year, I honestly just find that there’s not a lot of extra time in our days {*insert sad face here*}.  That being said, we’ve recently been all about apples and apple trees, and when Miss G asked about when the different stages of an apple tree’s life cycle occur, I figured it would be fun to explore the different seasons with some play dough and simple play dough mats.

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Butterfly World Play Dough Kit

4 / 13 / 164 / 20 / 16

Butterfly World Play Dough Kit | Mama Papa Bubba

With spring now in full force, it was time for a new addition to our ongoing play dough kit collection.  Though my first thought was to put together a spring garden set, we’ve made several very similar kits in the past and our garden set got a ton of play last spring, so I figured we’d switch it up this time around.

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St. Patrick’s Day Play Dough Kit

2 / 25 / 163 / 4 / 16

St Patrick s Day Play Dough Kit | Mama Papa Bubba

It’s been a long while since we put together our last play dough kit, so this week I finally made time to create a new one!  And since I have a very hard time resisting anything rainbow, this time around we went with a St. Patrick’s Day play dough kit.

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Dinosaur Play Dough Kit

10 / 15 / 1510 / 17 / 15

Dinosaur Play Dough Kit | Mama Papa Bubba

A couple of weeks back, Miss G and I put together a fall-themed play dough kit, and it’s been getting a ton of use ever since. {Some of Grae’s dolls even got deliciously scented dresses early one weekend morning – hah!}  It goes without saying that we love play dough kits, so we usually keep a few on hand, switching out the doughs and themes each season.  Well, since we’ve only switched out the one so far, it was time for the Canadian Wilderness set and the ice cream set to go.  And in in their place?  This fun dinosaur play dough kit and a super awesome Halloween kit {which I’ll share later this week}.

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Star Wars Play Dough Kit

10 / 3 / 1510 / 6 / 15

Star Wars Play Dough Kit | Mama Papa Bubba

Admittedly, neither Brad nor I are huge Star Wars fans…  But Miss G?  Well she’s recently become one thanks to this Cosmic Kids Yoga video. {Hah!}  So when she heard that the birthday party we’d been invited to this weekend was Star Wars-themed, she was absolutely thrilled.  Of course, when I asked what she’d like to get the birthday boy as a gift, she threw out ‘A STAR WARS PLAY DOUGH KIT!!!’ almost immediately {sorry friends, I promise to get her onto a non-play dough gift giving kick very soon} and then I realized how over my head I was…

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Fall Play Dough Kit

9 / 26 / 159 / 27 / 15

Fall Play Dough Kit | Mama Papa Bubba

As usual in our house, a new season means new play dough kits, and what better way to start off fall than with a fall-themed play dough kit?!  Grae and I have been collecting little odd and ends for this one for the last couple of weeks, so we were really excited to finally put it all together and play with it this morning… {Fyi, It smells amaaaazing!}

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Princess Play Dough Kit

9 / 13 / 159 / 14 / 15

Princess Play Dough Kit | Mama Papa Bubba

Today was Miss G’s first birthday party back in Canada and she was thrilled that a) it meant she got to finally see one of the friends she’s missed terribly while away, b) that it was princess-themed and involved art, and c) that it gave us the perfect excuse to create a ‘princessy’ gift.  

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Canadian Wilderness Play Dough Set

6 / 30 / 157 / 16 / 15

Canadian Wilderness Play Dough Set | Mama Papa Bubba

It goes without saying that being back in Canada means a need for some new play dough kits!  {Obviously.}  And since we’ve been in the land of beige for the last 10 months, what better way to celebrate being back in Canada than with a colourful Canadian wilderness play dough set?

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Mermaid Play Dough Kit

5 / 23 / 155 / 23 / 15

Mermaid Play Dough Kit | Mama Papa BubbaPlay dough kits.  We can’t stop making them.  Not for ourselves, and not for our friends.  Tomorrow morning we’re headed to a preschool co-op play date combined with a little birthday celebration, and since the birthday girl requested a mermaid themed celebration, we thought we’d make her a mermaid play dough kit to match. ☺

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