How to make cloud dough: 2 ingredient recipe
Make the perfect fluffy cloud dough with just 2 ingredients — it's a fun, mess-free play idea for toddlers and kids
If your child loves sensory play, or spends hours playing with playdough, then cloud dough is a great sensory activity to try.
This fluffy twist on playdough has all of the clay's mouldable texture, but feels silky soft and smooth. Plus, you can make it at home with only 2 ingredients — and no cooking!
Below, we explain everything you need to know about making this light and soft playdough alternative that will inspire hours of sensory fun.
Jump to:
- How to make cloud dough
- How to store cloud dough
- Fixing crumbly or sticky cloud dough
- How long does cloud dough last?
How to make cloud dough
You will need:
- A bowl
- Body lotion or hair conditioner
- Cornflour
- Optional: food colouring
Cloud dough recipe:
- Put a few pumps of body lotion into a bowl
- Add a few tablespoons of cornflour 1 tablespoon at a time and mix together — you're aiming for about twice as much cornflour as body lotion
- Keep mixing the cornflour and lotion together until it starts resembling the texture of dough — if you need to, add more cornflour to thicken
- Once the mixture resembles the texture of dough, remove from the bowl and knead it until you have a light, mouldable dough
- Optional: add a few drops of food colouring for a pop of colour if you would like to (just note that it may come off a little onto your child's hands)
How to store cloud dough
You should store your cloud dough in a plastic bag inside an airtight container at room temperature.
Fixing crumbly or sticky cloud dough
Whilst you're making your cloud dough, if it's feeling crumbly and you're struggling to reach the dough-y texture, you may have added too much cornflour. If this is the case, gradually add a little bit more body lotion and knead the dough. You may need to knead it for quite some time for it to achieve the right consistency.
If your cloud dough feels overly sticky, there may not be enough cornflour in the mixture. If this is the case, just add a little more cornflour very gradually and keep mixing until you have the desired dough-y consistency. However, be careful that you don't add too much cornflour — this will make it too crumbly. Just add a little at a time until the dough doesn't stick to your hands and achieves the right consistency.
If it feels too crumbly, add lotion; if it feels too sticky, add cornflour. In each instance, just be careful to not add too much as you may need to keep adding the different ingredients until it reaches the right texture.
How long does cloud dough last?
If you store your cloud dough properly (in a plastic bag inside an airtight container), it should last for around a week. If it starts to feel a little stiff, just add a little more body lotion and knead it in.
If you leave the cloud dough out too long, or play with it too long (around a few hours), it may start to get crumbly — kids can still play with it in this state, but you may want to make a new batch too (it only takes 5 minutes!).
Pic and credit: The Best Ideas for Kids
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Authors
Emily is the Digital Content Producer at MadeForMums and creates editorial and video content across the brand. She also edits the weekly editorial newsletter, oversees our reviews process and loves creating our craft articles and videos. She specialises predominantly in car seats and pushchairs, and has yet to meet a buggy she couldn’t fold! With a 1st class degree in History, she always researches topics thoroughly to find the best recommendations for parents.