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Cloud Dough

Looking for an easy way to make a no-cook, gluten free and super soft playdough? This Cloud Dough recipe is a fun twist on our traditional playdough recipe. We love that it’s only 2 main ingredients and can be scented with lotion. If you like making your own homemade playdough, then you definitely want to try this recipe!

RELATED: Playdough Recipe

Cloud Dough

This is a great recipe to make if you’ve never made playdough before. It’s really easy to make since it’s only 2 main ingredients and no cooking required! Kids also love the texture of this playdough. It’s the softest playdough you will ever try!

For our traditional playdough recipe, see it here.

How to Make Cloud Dough

You can make a few batches with different colors or choose your favorite. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and then put in an airtight container to keep it fresh and long lasting.

How To Make Cloud Dough

This is a no cook playdough recipe. It’s perfect if you want to make some playdough and you don’t have access to a stove top or kettle. The mixture comes together easily in 5 minutes (it’s fast!).

This is also gluten free!

Here are the ingredients you will need: 

Cornstarch 

Lotion

Food Coloring (optional) – we like this liquid food coloring gel in neon colors because you only need a few drops

2 Ingredient Cloud Dough

How do I store cloud dough?

To help your playdough to last as long as possible, it’s important to keep it as airtight as possible so that it doesn’t dry out. Wrap each color of playdough in plastic wrap and then place it in an airtight container to help it stay soft. If you find that your playdough has become a little dry, you can add a little bit of extra lotion and knead it in.

How do I keep the dough soft?

First wrap your playdough in saran wrap then store in an air-tight container or Ziploc bag. You’ll notice that playdough will go hard if left out – so the less air that can get to the playdough when storing, the longer it will last!

How do you make the dough soft again?

If your playdough dries out or turns out to be a little dry after making it, try adding in a little more lotion. If the playdough is too sticky after making it, add a little bit more cornstarch.

How long does it last?

This dough will not last as long as our traditional playdough recipe. The lotion will start to dry out from it within a week. However, you can easily revive it by just adding a few extra squirts of lotion to it and kneading it in. This will make it almost like brand new again.

Cornstarch Playdough

Cloud Dough Recipe

Cloud Dough
5 from 6 votes

Cloud Dough

2 ingredient playdough recipe.
Prep Time5 minutes
5 minutes

Materials

  • 1/2 cup lotion regular lotion or baby lotion
  • 1 cup cornstarch also called cornflour

Instructions 

  • Add 1/2 cup of lotion to a bowl. Add 1-2 drops of the food coloring (if using concentrated gel, if using regular food coloring you'll need more drops to color) and mix. 
    Mix Food Coloring with Conditioner
  • Mix the lotion and food coloring until combined.
    Mix Until Blended with Lotion
  • Add 1 cup of cornstarch and mix.
    Add Cornstarch to Lotion for Cloud Dough
  • Mix until combined.
    Mix Together Lotion and Cornstarch
  • Then take out the dough and place on some wax paper. Knead with your hands (you may want gloves here so your hands don't stain). Keep kneading until it forms a dough-like consistency. If it's still too sticky add another tablespoon of cornstarch. 
    Knead the Cloud Dough

Video

Notes

Repeat recipe for each color you would like to make. 

Once your cloud dough is finished, use cookie cutters and rolling pins to play with it!

To store: simply put the playdough in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container to help it last longer. If the dough dries out, add a few extra squirts of lotion to it and knead back in.

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Recipe Rating




29 comments on “Cloud Dough”

    1. It will eventually dry out and you can add more lotion to it to make it the same consistency. No you cannot use coconut oil instead.

  1. 5 stars
    So fun! I had to add quite a bit more starch than the recipe calls for, and tried it with 2 different lotions but both worked out great. I made an orange batch and a green batch to do a little Pumpkin-making activity with my 2 year old 🙂

  2. Sounds wonderful. Is the coloring made from natural ingredients or are they synthetic/harmful dyes (not food grade)?

    1. You can use any kind of food coloring you’d like so you can use natural dye if you’d like!

  3. if i use 1/2 cup of cornstarch then how much lotion will i need to make cloud dough

    1. The Best Ideas for Kids

      You could probably split 1 recipe between 2 kids so then you would want to make 13 batches. Hope that helps!

  4. Tried it! Nice and soft. Does stick to hands a bit but it’s really easy to make and fun to play with. Does not stain hands after you knead it. 13 month old loves it! 

    1. The Best Ideas for Kids

      It should stay together, if it starts to crumble or dry out just knead a little more lotion in.

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