Cloud dough has been a major player in sensory activities for quite a while now. I’ve made it once before for Cannon and it was definitely a hit! As I sat planning St. Patrick’s day activities for my boys, I decided to bring back the cloud dough. The problem was I really wanted to dye it this time, but every recipe for colorful cloud dough required special oil based coloring methods (because the baby oil does not mix well with regular water based food coloring). That presented a bit of a dilemma for a last minute planner like myself.  I needed a way to dye the dough with ingredients found at my local grocery store. And where there’s a will- there’s a way…


Can you recognize the secret ingredient in the picture? It’s actually Duncan Hines Frosting Creations!  I saw these in an advertisement and knew they were a great ingredient to have in my pantry! I bought several colors/flavors (the smell is mouth-watering) and was waiting for the right opportunity to use them. Little did I know their first use would be in a sensory activity for my son 🙂

Want to know the how-to? Here it is:

  • Mix 4 Cups of flour and 2 packages of your desired Duncan Hines color mixture together until well combined.
  • Pour 1/2 cup of baby oil into the mixture.
  • Use your hands to combine all the ingredients.

What a piece of cake! The prep time is so quick that you could whip this up in less than 5 minutes!

Cloud dough is a great sensory material on its own, but the fun is exponentially more interesting if you add some molding toys (the kind you would use to build a sandcastle) and let your little munchkins squish it into interesting shapes (I dare you not to spend a few minutes squeezing and shaping the material yourself! It’s quite the cathartic experience at any age!)

As for us, we have a St. Patrick’s Day activity we will be using this beautiful dough for. Visit us again soon to see how the activity turns out!

**Despite the yummy smell, this is NOT an edible play material.