Monday, 23 September 2013

Cloud Dough Tutorial

Over to the lovely Laura for some good ol' fashioned messy play. LOVE it.

Being almost 1, an age where he’s starting to get into everything, my Little T needs things to take his mind off the fact that there are objects such as DVD players and Sky+ boxes in the house to ‘play’ with. One day last week whilst it was throwing down with rain last week (which sadly meant no trip to the park), I decided to pass an hour or so by making some cloud dough.
Cloud dough is really simple to make – 1 part vegetable oil to 8 parts flour. So, I used a normal drinking mug full of oil and 8 mugs full of flour in a clean and dry washing up bowl. Mix it really well with your hands and there you go! Little T and I spent about 5 minutes mixing it with our hands. It feels like you’re making a crumble topping but without the anticipation of digging in afterwards. Messy, yes but also really fun! If doing this with children that are a little bit older you could add some glitter, a dash of food colouring or some scented oil for more of a sensory experience but I kept it plain in case Little T put any in his mouth.
Once it’s all mixed you can make shapes, use shells from the beach or baking moulds to make shapes or simply just squish it through your fingers. I’m not sure who had more fun, me or Little T but it was a hit and something we’ll be doing again. With my husband being a bit of a clean freak, it’s probably a good job we waited until he had gone to work as we made one hell of a mess – it ended up on the sofa and all over the floor but that’s all part of the fun!! Little T is a little bit small to appreciate it just yet but even still and with older children you’re likely to make less mess but it was a sensory feast for him and he enjoyed getting his hands stuck into the bowl, squishing it and then letting it fall on the floor. It was also quite literally a feast for our big daft Labrador, who thought it was rather tasty. This was quite handy when Little T decided to tip the whole bowl over the living room carpet – who needs a vacuum cleaner when you have a dog?
If you’re stuck for things to do this summer, have a go. It can be done indoors or out in the garden so good for rain or shine!

Laura x
www.lifelovelaura.com
Crafting a Daydream
Follow Mrs Crafty B

Follow Mrs Crafty B on Facebook    Follow Mrs Crafty B on Twitter    Follow Mrs Crafty B on Pinterest    Follow Mrs Crafty B via Google Plus    Follow Mrs Crafty B via RSS

1 comment: