We are slightly obsessed with making crayon play dough recipes. It all started with our crayon play dough. We were brainstorming for an activity to go along with the book, Harold and the Purple Crayon and we made homemade play dough using crayons as a main ingredient. We love this dough so much because of it’s soft and smooth texture and it’s bright and bold color.
We decided to try a new version of our crayon recipe and make shades of red crayon play dough. This is perfect for Valentine’s Day, but we’ll be using this play dough long after February 14th!
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Red Crayon Play Dough Recipe
We grabbed a couple of packs of these Red Hot crayons and knew they had to be used for all red play dough. You can use broken crayons that are floating around the house, though.
This pack has some pretty red shades. Red, maroon, brick red, mango tango…the bonus of using crayons for dying play dough is that you get a pure, bright, and bold color. Even reds (which don’t always come out brightly colored with other play dough methods) are vivid.
Start by chopping the crayons into small pieces. I used two crayons for each shade (so we ended up using two packs of the Red Hot crayons to make eight shades of red crayon play dough.
You can get the measurements on our how to make crayon play dough post.
Once you chop up the crayons, melt into the oil over a stove. After the crayons are melted, slowly stir in the water. You can then add the dry ingredients and keep stirring until the dough pulls together. Be sure to mix with a spoon or whisk as you slowly pour in the dry ingredients.Dump the play dough onto a floured surface and let it cool for a few minutes. Once the dough has cooled enough to knead, you will want to knead until the dough is smooth and even in texture.
You can get the measurements on our how to make crayon play dough post.
Troubleshooting crayon dough problems:
There are a few problems you might run into when you’re making crayon play dough. If you have white spots in the dough after kneading, it means the flour wasn’t mixed in evenly. Keep kneading the dough and it will eventually get all of the flour flecks mixed in.
If the dough seems too dry, you can add a bit of oil and knead some more.
If the dough seems too moist or oily, add a bit of flour and knead.
Always add small increments to get the right texture, with a lot of kneading in between.
Crayon hearts for Valentine’s Day!
Little Sister loves play dough so all of these shades of red are making her happy!
We even made a few Valentine’s Day treat bags using sandwich bags and pink paper. Pop the play dough into the baggie and fold over the opening. Tape a strip of paper with a heart for a cute non-candy Valentine’s Day treat bag!
More crayon play dough colors:
If you like the idea of using your broken crayon pieces in something as fun and creative as play dough, then you will love to try a few different ideas, too. We’ve given crayon play dough a run for it’s fun and tried a few different versions. Check them out and if you make a batch, let us know how you get creative with crayon play dough!