How to Make Cloud Dough

Have you heard of cloud dough? This is a simple, amazing sensory project you can make for your kids with very little trouble.

If you are into messy play with your kids, then read on to learn how to make this easy two ingredient cloud dough recipe.

Instructions to Make Cloud Dough

Tools and Supplies:

The DIY cloud dough recipe is so easy. It only requires two household ingredients: flour and oil.

You’ll also need measuring cups, a large mixing bowl, and food coloring or powdered tempera paint if you’d like to color it. We chose not to, but color always makes things so much fun, too! You could also tint it with turmeric!

To make this play recipe, mix 4 cups of flour with 1 cup of oil in a large bowl. If you need multiple batches, do it in smaller amounts. It can be difficult to m ix in large quantities.

You can use baby oil, vegetable oil, or even olive oil. We have made it both ways. The texture doesn’t change, just the scent. If you want it to be taste-safe with no worries, use vegetable oil. If you want it to smell lovely, use baby oil! Either way, it is a lot of fun.

Let the kids dig in and stir with a spoon or just mix the dough with their hands. It will not be a traditional dough consistency, but more a crumbly substance that packs together- like kinetic sand or moon sand if you have heard of that. You can see that my 5 year old loved it!

Kids just love playing in cloud dough and you will love seeing them enjoy themselves so much! They will love squishing, squeezing and molding the cloud dough into all kinds of shapes. Throw in a few toys and things for the kids to use in their playing. We used cups for molding it, too!

Using cloud dough in a sensory bin for little ones is a great idea as well. This helps contain the mess a bit if you have it in a bigger bin.

My kids got creative and built some “sand castle” towers. Then they brought in some people to play on them. Princesses and superheroes like playing in cloud dough, too. What other tools or toys could you add in?

I divided mine into two different bowls so each of my kids could play on their own! You could also put it onto a large cookie sheet to let them create and mold even more. Cookie cutters are fun to add to the play experience, too.

Warning: You may not love the mess it makes. Try to stay calm and remember that you made it for them to have fun. You will definitely have to vacuum after!

Messy sensory play is so good for kids development and it’s worth it, I promise. You could also just wait until a warm day and do it outside if mess is an issue.

Tip: worried about gluten sensitivities? Try it with a gluten-free flour. You could make it with ground up oats, cornstarch, or even try it with sand instead and make our kinetic sand.

Try some variations: Some make this cloud dough with body lotion or hair conditioner instead of the oil. Try My Baby Lotion Play Dough recipe.

This dough can be kept for a few days in an airtight container, or by covering the bowl with plastic wrap.

Try some of our other sensory play ideas:

Tapioca Pearl Sensory Play
Homemade Kinetic Sand
Color Mixing with Homemade Playdough
Edible Slime Recipes
Make Oobleck